Department for Transport

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government will review all new security systems at airports in response to the three year trial of the Smiths Detection system at Heathrow Airport.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport keeps security at airports under constant review and is in regular contact with airports and manufacturers. Purchasing equipment however remains the decision of airports.Any equipment in use must meet the security standards set by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and be approved for use by the Department for Transport. Approved equipment can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/aviation-security-screening-approved-equipment-list.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what training is given to supervisors at Heathrow Airport on using the Smiths Detection security screening system.

Robert Courts: Supervisors must have received appropriate training in the use of security equipment. Supervisors have to complete relevant training as outlined in the training syllabi that can be found on the CAA website at https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Security/Training/Syllabuses/. We do not provide details of the specific training for security reasons.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Smiths Detection security screening system at Heathrow Airport.

Robert Courts: The Secretary of State for Transport is responsible for setting the security measures that should be applied in the UK. The Department for Transport advises the industry on equipment that may be used for screening at an airport. This is set out in the DfT Approved Equipment List https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/aviation-security-screening-approved-equipment-list . All such equipment meets the standards set by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) of which the UK is a member.

Driving Instruction: Recruitment

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's plan to recruit 300 new driving examiners; and how many and what proportion of the examiners recruited as at July 2021 are actively conducting practical driving tests on a full-time basis as at 20 September 2021.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has an ongoing campaign to increase the number of examiners by recruiting around 300 driving examiners between 1 April 2021 and June 2022. As at 21 September 2021, 74 examiners have been recruited.97% of examiners, that were recruited as at July 2021, were actively conducting practical driving tests on a full-time basis as at 20 September 2021.As a result of the DVSA’s first recruitment campaign, there are 107 people either attending, or booked to attend, their training between now and January 2022. As a result of the second recruitment campaign, there are 62 people who have passed the selection process; these candidates will be notified week commencing 27 September 2021.To support the recruitment campaign, the agency is also exploring options to temporarily contract in experienced driving assessors from other road safety organisations to become driving examiners.The DVSA has put a number of measures in place to increase practical driving tests and reduce waiting times. These include offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays and weekends).

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how long the training is to work with the Smiths Detection security screening system at Heathrow Terminal 2.

Robert Courts: Staff must have received appropriate training in the use of equipment before they can operate in a live environment. Staff will have to complete relevant training as outlined in the training syllabi that can be found on the CAA website at https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Security/Training/Syllabuses/. We do not provide details of the specific training for security reasons.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how long do passengers wait on average in security screening at Heathrow Airport; and what the average time is for a passenger to have a bag checked.

Robert Courts: Heathrow airport has met the monthly security queue standards set under its economic licence between January – August 2021, as demonstrated in its latest performance reports except for one day in July at Terminal 5 central search.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who is responsible for decisions to incorporate a security screening machines in UK airports; and who is responsible for the effectiveness of those machines.

Robert Courts: The Secretary of State for Transport is responsible for setting the security measures that should be applied in the UK. The Department for Transport advises the industry on equipment that may be used for screening at an airport. This is set out in the DfT Approved Equipment List https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/aviation-security-screening-approved-equipment-list . All such equipment meets the standards set by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) of which the UK is a member.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people are required to man the Smiths Detection security screening system in Heathrow Terminal 2; and how many were required to man the previous system.

Robert Courts: This will be a matter for the airport depending on the configuration of the security checkpoint.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost is of a Smiths Detection security screening system in Heathrow Terminal 2; and how many of those systems there are across all terminals at Heathrow.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport does not hold this information.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the three-year project to incorporate the Smiths Detection system into the security screening process at Heathrow Terminal 2.

Robert Courts: All security equipment and associated processes are required to meet security standards sufficient to ensure that prohibited articles are not taken beyond the airport search point. For security reasons we do not provide details of such arrangements.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what training staff at Heathrow Terminal 2 have to work on the Smith detection security screening system.

Robert Courts: The responsibility for ensuring that personnel are trained to operate any security equipment to a standard sufficient to ensure that no prohibited articles are taken beyond the search point falls to the airport.Staff must have received appropriate training in the use of equipment before they can operate in a live environment. Staff will have to complete relevant training as outlined in the training syllabi that can be found on the CAA website at https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Security/Training/Syllabuses/. We do not provide details of the specific training for security reasons.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the efficiency is of the Smiths Detection security screening system at Heathrow Terminal 2; and what proportion of bags are rejected by that system.

Robert Courts: For national and aviation security reasons we do not comment on the detail of specific security arrangements, or on the details of the equipment in use.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the Government’s expected go through time is for security at Heathrow Terminal 2.

Robert Courts: To incentivise good service quality performance for consumers, the CAA sets the following security queue standards that it expects Heathrow airport to meet under its economic licence:- Central search security queue standardso 95% of queue times measured once every 15 minutes that are less than 5 minuteso 99% of queue times measured once every 15 minutes that are less than 10 minutes- Transfer search security queue standardo 95% of queue times measured once every 15 minutes that are less than 10 minutes- Staff search security queue standardo 95% of queue times measured once every 15 minutes that are less than 10 minutesQueue times which do not meet these standards can trigger a rebate payable by Heathrow airport.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2021 to Question 170743 on Parking: Pedestrian Areas, what recent progress he has made on plans to reform the management of pavement parking.

Trudy Harrison: We are giving careful consideration to the large volume of responses to our consultation to help inform our policy decision and will publish the outcome as soon as possible.

Bicycles: Parking

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commit to allocating more funding to local authorities to build secure (a) cycle hangars and (b) on-street cycle parking spaces.

Chris Heaton-Harris: £239 million of capital funding is being made available to local authorities outside London this financial year for active travel measures, including cycle parking infrastructure. Local transport authorities have been invited to bid for this funding and allocations will be announced in the autumn.In London, Transport for London (TfL) and the London Boroughs are responsible for the provision of public cycle parking. The Government announced a third funding and financing package for TfL in June this year, which includes £100 million to continue the delivery of healthy streets and active travel programmes.

St Pancras Station: Immigration Controls

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact on operations at St Pancras Station of the introduction of the entry-exist system for the Schengen border in 2022.

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that smooth flows of passengers are maintained at St Pancras after the introduction of the new entry-exist system for the Schengen border in 2022.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government is engaging closely with industry, including Eurostar, to consider the operational challenges and impacts as a result of border operations, including the introduction of the EU’s ‘Entry-Exit system’.I recently met with Eurostar representatives at St Pancras to discuss this issue and understand the operational challenges. My officials have facilitated similar discussions on this issue with industry and other government departments. The Government expects to see workable, pragmatic solutions, which take account of the unique operational considerations of juxtaposed border controls and supports efficient passenger flows.

Driving Licences: Italy

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on reaching a reciprocal arrangement for the recognition of driving licences with Italy.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Transport has successfully agreed arrangements with Italy for the mutual recognition of photocard licences. As such, visitors with UK photocard licences will not need to carry an additional International Driving Permit when driving in Italy.We have also secured interim arrangements with the Italian authorities which will allow UK licence holders resident in Italy to continue to use their valid UK licence until the end of this year. We are working with the Italian Government to finalise a permanent licence exchange agreement as soon as possible.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Driving Tests

Paul Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department have taken to help ensure a sufficient level of fully qualified HGV drivers to carry out the additional 50,000 HGV driving tests being made available each year.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has increased the number of vocational driving tests available per week to 3,000. This is a 50% increase from before the pandemic, achieved through the use of overtime and moving additional staff into testing.DVSA has recruited 300 new car examiners to ease demand on vocational examiners, who conduct HGV driving tests, and is also recruiting 40 more vocational examiners. In addition, the delegation of the reversing manoeuvres in the HGV driving test to approved trainers, announced on 10 September 2021, will allow vocational examiners to complete more driving tests per day.The forthcoming regulatory change to remove the requirement to take a test to tow a trailer with a car, also announced on 10 September, will result in around an additional 30,000 vocational tests a year being made available, as most of the examiners who conducted car and trailer tests are also qualified to conduct HGV and HGV and trailer tests. A further 20,000 vocational tests will be made available through removing the requirement to take a rigid lorry (Cat C) test before an articulated vehicle (Cat C+E) test.

Heathrow Airport: Security

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) projected and (b) actual efficiency is of the Smiths Detection security screening system in Heathrow Terminal 2.

Robert Courts: Any equipment in use must meet the security standards set by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and be approved for use by the Department for Transport. Approved equipment can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/aviation-security-screening-approved-equipment-list. We do not provide specific details of the security equipment in use for security reasons.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Science: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what additional new global funding for science research he has secured for the UK after leaving the EU.

George Freeman: The Government recognises the critical importance of global research partnerships and supporting UK researchers to collaborate across the world. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22; and as set out in the Integrated Review, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&D sector. On 1st April, the Department set out an additional £250m of funding for the R&D sector. As a result, UK scientists will have access to more public funding than ever before. This takes total Government investment in R&D to £14.9 billion in 2021/22 and follows four years of significant growth in R&D funding, including a boost of more than £1.5 billion in 2020/21. For example, our commitment is demonstrated through the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, of which the UK is a founding country. In June 2021 the start of construction in Australia and South Africa was announced at a total cost of £1.7 billion, to which the UK is committing over £270 million. When complete, this radio telescope network will be the most advanced on Earth, and its headquarters are in the UK, at Jodrell Bank just south of Manchester. Additionally, the Department administers approximately £10m in tactical funds to enable agile, catalytic R&D collaborations with international partners. The funds support Integrated Review ambitions, Government research priorities including Net Zero, and Innovation. Given we are currently conducting a Spending Review, it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome and comment on future spending plans.

Science: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with UKRI Innovate UK to ensure that science research which should be in receipt of a grant under the EIT Health Investor Network will be reimbursed in full for 2021.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps is he taking to ensure that the EIT Health Investor Network is meeting its commitments under the EU Withdrawal Agreement.

George Freeman: The UK and the EU agreed the terms for our association to Horizon Europe under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. This includes participation in 2021 projects run by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The UK stands ready to formalise our participation at the earliest opportunity. UK entities are eligible and are strongly encouraged to apply for Horizon Europe funding, which the Commission has made clear in the Q&A on their website.

Science: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that science research is fully funded from January 2022.

George Freeman: Future funding decisions are subject to the outcome of the Spending Review which will set budgets from 2022/23 to 2024/25. The Spending Review process will conclude on 27 October. We are working with HM Treasury to agree an ambitious R&D package. In announcing the Spending Review, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer reiterated the Government’s commitment to cement the UK’s position as a science superpower. The Government is already investing £14.9bn in R&D across government in 2021/22, putting public investment at its highest level for four decades. We are committed to achieving our target of total UK investment in R&D increasing to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

Horizon Europe

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that research projects will be reimbursed their full grants for 2021, when the agreement is signed with Horizon Europe.

George Freeman: The UK and the EU agreed the terms for our association to Horizon Europe under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). UK entities are eligible to apply for Horizon Europe funding; the Commission has made this clear in the Q&A section on their website. The UK stands ready to formalise our participation at the earliest opportunity. UK entities are eligible and are strongly encouraged to apply for Horizon Europe funding, which the Commission has made clear in the Q&A on their website.

Horizon Europe

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to conclude the agreement to associate to Horizon Europe.

George Freeman: The UK and the EU agreed the terms for our association to Horizon Europe under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). As the underpinning EU legislation was not yet adopted when the TCA was agreed, this was accompanied by a Joint Declaration on Participation in Union Programmes and Access to Programme Services, which set out the parties’ intention to formalise UK participation at the earliest opportunity. Now that the EU legislation underpinning the Horizon Europe programme is in force, the UK stands ready to formalise our participation at the earliest opportunity. UK entities are eligible and are strongly encouraged to apply for Horizon Europe funding, which the Commission has made clear in the Q&A on their website.

Horizon Europe

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the science research budget under Horizon Europe will be maintained at the same levels as Horizon 2020 funding for the UK; and what steps he is taking to secure that level of funding.

George Freeman: Future funding decisions are subject to the outcome of the Spending Review which will set budgets from 2022/23 to 2024/25. The Chancellor has reiterated the Government’s commitment to cement the UK’s position as a science superpower through an ambitious R&D package.The Government increased investment in R&D to £14.9bn for 2021/22, putting public investment at its highest level for four decades. We are committed to achieving our target of total UK investment in R&D increasing to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.The UK and the EU agreed the terms for our association to Horizon Europe under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). As the underpinning EU legislation was not yet adopted when the TCA was agreed, this was accompanied by a Joint Declaration on Participation in Union Programmes and Access to Programme Services, which set out the parties’ intention to formalise UK participation at the earliest opportunity. Now that the EU legislation underpinning the Horizon Europe programme is in force, the UK stands ready to formalise our participation at the earliest opportunity. UK entities are eligible and are strongly encouraged to apply for Horizon Europe funding, which the Commission has made clear in the Q&A on their website.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the Government has terminated its supply agreement with Valneva for their covid-19 vaccine.

George Freeman: As any responsible government does, we manage our vaccine supply to meet our projected needs and to offer the best protection to those who need it, when they need it. Delays to Valneva’s contracted delivery schedule have meant that their ability to deliver an effective vaccine in the timeframe contracted for was unachievable. As such the vaccine no longer aligns with its planned use in our vaccination programme. Given the maturity of the UK’s vaccination programme, and with over 80% of the UK population now double vaccinated and now an alternative (in the absence of Valneva's product) autumn/ winter vaccination campaign underway, the government has therefore taken a decision to cancel the agreement with Valneva. Due to commercial sensitivities, we cannot disclose the details of our commercial discussions with them. UK Government officials are engaged in constructive discussions with Valneva now to seek to reach a mutually beneficial resolution to the matters.

Energy: Billing

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make available immediate funding for low income households who will experience an increase in their gas and electricity bills from October 2021.

Greg Hands: Ofgem updates the energy price cap to reflect changes in underlying costs, such as purchasing wholesale gas and electricity prices, which are global markets. Wholesale prices are increasing, but the energy price cap still saves 15 million households on default tariffs up to £100 a year.

Energy Charter: Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the findings of Global Justice Now, published 18 September 2021, that globally, fossil fuel companies are suing governments for more than £13 billion over climate change policies which risk impacting their profits, what assessment her Department has made of the compatibility of the UK’s membership of the Energy Charter Treaty with (a) the Paris Agreement objective to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees and (b) the COP26 goal to keep 1.5 degrees within reach.

Greg Hands: The Energy Charter Treaty already calls on Member States to minimise the environmental impacts of energy operations. Member States of the Energy Charter Treaty are currently engaged in a process to modernise the Treaty and ensure it is aligned with our climate objectives.

Natural Gas: Shortages

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a risk report of the (a) economic and (b) other impacts of shortages in gas.

Greg Hands: As my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out in a statement to the House on 20 September, higher natural gas prices have been seen internationally in 2021 for a number of reasons, however the diversity and reliability of GB’s sources of gas continues to minimise the risk of gas shortages.

Tidal Power: River Mersey

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to support the Mersey Tidal Power Project towards an investment position by the mid-2020’s.

Greg Hands: The Government remains open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing tidal energy. Any such consideration would of course be subject to rigorous value-for-money assessment.

Procurement: China

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that UK businesses can prevent the products of human rights violations in China, particularly in the supply chain for solar farms through polysilicon, from being installed in local areas.

Greg Hands: We are thoroughly investigating reports of forced labour in the global solar panel supply chain. In January, we announced a comprehensive package of measures to help ensure no UK organisations are complicit in the serious human rights violations being perpetrated against the Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.

Energy Supply: Prices

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of UK energy suppliers on (a) the impact of high global gas prices on the UK energy market and (b) protecting household energy bills during winter 2021-22.

Greg Hands: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have been in regular contact with the regulator, Ofgem, and energy suppliers. On 20 September 2021, a roundtable was held with leading energy suppliers and consumer groups to hear about the challenges they currently face. A further roundtable was held on 21 September 2021 with smaller and challenger energy suppliers.

Carbon Capture and Storage: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to announce any carbon capture and storage projects in Northern Ireland.

Greg Hands: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution committed to establishing two industrial Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) clusters by the mid 2020s, with the aim of four of these sites by 2030, capturing 10Mt of carbon dioxide per year. As part of the CCUS deployment process, we have announced the clusters eligible for Track-1 and expect to announce the selected Track-1 clusters from 25 October 2021.

Hydrogen: Iron and Steel

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the German Government’s recent financial support for the demonstration and commercialisation of hydrogen steelmaking.

Greg Hands: The UK is monitoring international progress on low carbon steel making trials, using hydrogen and other technologies, and the funding and policies that support them.

Hydrogen

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of the targets for domestic green hydrogen production outlined in the Hydrogen Strategy will be allocated to the decarbonisation of heavy industry.

Greg Hands: The Government has published the first ever UK Hydrogen Strategy that builds on our ambition, working with industry, for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.The Government has not set specific hydrogen demand targets for different sectors of the economy because the precise mix of decarbonisation solutions will depend on how technologies and markets develop over the coming decades.

Fossil Fuels: Storage

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government's strategy is on increasing its oil and gas reserves and storage capacity.

Greg Hands: The UK benefits from having access to highly diverse sources of gas supply to ensure households, businesses and heavy industry get the energy they need. Gas storage is not a component of overall winter supply. GB gas storage stock levels are currently comparable to previous years ahead of the winter months and storage is expected to continue its role as a source of system flexibility. BEIS is continuing to explore the future of the gas storage landscape through the UK Hydrogen Strategy, which considers the role of hydrogen storage in greater detail and whether further regulation or support mechanisms are needed to maximise its potential.

Energy Supply: Prices

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what contingency planning his Department is undertaking to help ensure that vulnerable people are not left without heating in the event of energy shortages in winter 2021, with particular reference to the elderly and disabled people.

Greg Hands: We remain confident that gas and electricity security of supply can be maintained under a wide range of scenarios.

Natural Gas: Prices

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the increase in wholesale gas supplies.

Greg Hands: As set out by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 20 September, higher wholesale gas prices have been seen internationally in 2021. A number of factors have contributed to this increase. This increase in global gas prices is reflected in the British wholesale gas market. There has been an increase in global gas demand as a result of economies rebounding following the removal of measures put in place to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. Combined with low levels of European gas in storage following a cold winter in Europe, this has led to a much tighter gas market with less spare capacity. In addition, high demand in Asia for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), which is transported globally by ship, and weather events in the US, have meant less LNG than expected has reached Europe. Gas production has also been reduced, with several planned and unplanned outages, such as in Norway and the US. Other factors include essential maintenance, including projects rescheduled from 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vacancies

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help tackle labour shortages.

Paul Scully: The Government recently announced a package of measures to ease temporary supply chain pressures in food haulage industries, brought on by the pandemic and the global economy rebounding around the world. Up to 4,000 people will soon be able to take advantage of training courses to become HGV drivers. 5,000 HGV drivers will be able to come to the UK for 3 months in the run-up to Christmas, providing short-term relief for the haulage industry. A further 5,500 visas for poultry workers will also be made available for the same short period, to avoid any potential further pressures on the food industry during this exceptional period. Ministers from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are working very closely across Government to monitor labour supply chains, identify pinch points and consider any further necessary government action.BEIS is also working closely with other Government Departments and industry to address sector-specific challenges, which are being faced by countries around the world. For example, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced the implementation of the Downstream Oil Protocol. This measure will provide a temporary exemption of companies operating in the oil industry from the Competition Act 1998 for the purpose of sharing information and optimising fuel supply in the event of a disruption.The Government is keen to see employers make long term investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad, and businesses should be looking at how to make employment more attractive, including through wage increases and offering training. Progress is already being made in testing and hiring, and a big push towards improving pay, working conditions and diversity.

Fireworks: Animal Welfare

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to bring forward additional regulations on the sale and safe use of fireworks in response to the distress caused to animals from fireworks.

Paul Scully: The Government takes the issues associated with the sale and use of fireworks seriously and we understand the concerns that some people have about the potential for distress caused to animals. We have no current plans to place further restrictions on the sale of fireworks to the public. Through our public awareness campaign for the 2021 fireworks season, we are working with a variety of stakeholders, including animal welfare groups, to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks to the general public, to ensure that those using them do so safely and considerately.

British Business Bank: Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders are not required to notify the British Business Bank of the repayment of loans.

Paul Scully: Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders are not specifically required to notify the British Business Bank of loan repayments. This is because, at the time the scheme was launched, a decision was taken to streamline administrative burdens on lenders to allow them to concentrate resources on processing the large number of applications from businesses. However, lenders do have an overarching duty to ensure that accurate records are kept, and loans that have reached maturity are automatically removed from the Bank’s web based reporting tool. Further information related to loan repayments for the Government’s Covid-19 loan schemes will be included in the Department’s 2020-21 Annual Report and Accounts, to be published in due course

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Correspondence

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that all government agencies pro-actively promote access to paper or printable forms for people who do not have full access to digital versions.

Michael Ellis: The Government’s Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) is responsible for producing the Service Standard (https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard) which guides government teams as to how they should design and produce content providing information regarding public services.Government teams are required to make sure that all information is accessible across all channels, including online, phone, paper and face to face.Government teams must also make sure that everyone can use their services, including disabled people, people with other legally protected characteristics, people who do not have access to the internet and/or lack the skills and/or confidence to use the internet. CDDO provides clear guidance on how to make non-digital parts of a government service as widely accessible as possible by providing a contact for users and providing forms in alternative formats for example, large print, braille or audio CD.

Department of Health and Social Care

Lung Cancer: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 July 2021 to Question 36637, on Lung Cancer: Screening, what criteria his Department plans to use to inform its decision regarding the introduction of population screening for lung cancer following the recommendation from the National Screening Committee.

Maggie Throup: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is currently considering the evidence for a population lung cancer screening programme. The UK NSC will assess the effectiveness of the test and subsequent interventions, as well as cost effectiveness and feasibility of implementation in making their recommendation. Ministers will review these criteria alongside the recommendation when making their final decision.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on defining a national access and waiting times standard for child and adolescent mental health services.

Gillian Keegan: The National Health Service is piloting a four-week waiting time standard for access to specialist mental health treatment for children and young people in twelve areas of England. Based on these pilots, NHS England and NHS Improvement have consulted on a new waiting time standard for children and young people presenting to community-based mental health services, to receive care within four weeks from referral. This consultation closed on 1 September 2021 and the outcomes will inform a recommendation on implementation to Government in due course.

Dementia: Research

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on delivering the Dementia Moonshot.

Gillian Keegan: Plans for increasing funding for dementia research and delivering a moonshot are subject to the forthcoming spending review settlements. We will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for future years in due course.

Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average NHS waiting times for psychiatric care in July 2021.

Gillian Keegan: The data is not held in the format requested as a national access and waiting times standard for National Health Service mental health services has not yet been defined. Currently, access and waiting times standards exist for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services and performance data is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/improving-access-to-psychological-therapies-data-set; Early intervention for psychosis services performance data is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/eip-waiting-times/ Children and young people's eating disorder services performance data is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cyped-waiting-times/ The NHS Long Term Plan committed to invest at least an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by 2023/24. This increased investment will ensure that an additional 345,000 children and young people and 380,000 more adults will have timely access to NHS funded mental health services.

Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2021 to Question 10548 on NHS: Staff, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that eating disorder services can recruit and retain the staff needed to meet rising demand for those services.

Gillian Keegan: We are investing approximately £1 billion to improve care for adults with a range of severe mental health problems, including eating disorders, in England by 2023/24. The majority of this funding is to be spent on staffing and contracting the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, with an ambition to recruit 10,000 new staff in community mental health services, including eating disorder services The NHS People Plan seeks to improve staff retention, through areas such as flexible working, health and wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion. In addition, the NHS Retention Programme supports staff to stay whilst keeping them well to ensure we can retain staff, including those working in eating disorder services.

Mental Health Services: Schools

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Government plans to fund a full roll out of mental health support teams to all schools and colleges.

Gillian Keegan: We are planning for approximately 400 operational mental health support teams in schools and colleges in England by 2023, covering an estimated three million children and young people (around 35 per cent of pupils in England). This will be determined by future funding settlements.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning a review into the use of electroconvulsive therapy.

Gillian Keegan: We have made no such assessment.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides guidelines which includes recommendations on the use of electroconvulsive therapy. The Department expects commissioners and providers of services to pay due regard to these guidelines and NICE keeps its guidance under regular review.

Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department's timescale for responding to the consultation on five new waiting time standards that mental health providers have been piloting, which closed on 1 September 2021.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the findings of the mental health pilots on the five new waiting time standards.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement expect to publish the response to the consultation on the proposals for five new waiting time standards by the end of this year. There are no current plans to formally publish the findings of the mental health pilots. However, they are being shared with appropriate stakeholders and participants to help inform the development of the standards.

Dementia: Social Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to families affected by dementia in (a) Slough and (b) the South East.

Gillian Keegan: Through the Spending Review allocation, integrated care systems (ICS) in the South East region have received almost £3 million additional funding to reduce any backlog to memory assessment clinics resulting from the pandemic, with £205,000 specifically for Frimley ICS. This funding is also aimed at enhancing the support available for people waiting for an assessment following diagnosis. Frimley ICS has advised NHS England and NHS Improvement that post-diagnosis support is widely available across their area and in Slough additional funding will be used to employ additional mental health practitioners to increase the capacity to conduct initial assessments.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of children referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) by (a) Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust and (b) Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust received a routine assessment within four weeks of referral; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for CAMHS services.

Gillian Keegan: The data requested is not held centrally.The NHS Long Term Plan commits to invest at least an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health by 2023/24, providing an additional 345,000 children and young people a year with access to National Health Service-funded mental health support. We are investing an additional £79 million in 2021-22 to address waiting times, allowing around 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services, 2,000 more to access eating disorder services and accelerate the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges.NHS England and NHS Improvement have consulted on a new waiting time standard for children and young people presenting to community-based mental health services, to receive care within four weeks from referral. This consultation closed on 1 September 2021 and the outcomes will inform a recommendation to Government on implementation.

Hospices: Pay

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the challenges facing hospices to (a) recruit and (b) train healthcare staff, in the event that care homes are unable to match the 3 per cent pay rise for NHS staff.

Gillian Keegan: We have made no specific assessment as most hospices are independent, charitable organisations and develop and adopt terms and conditions of employment to recruit the staff they need to deliver services.The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement, will continue to engage with the sector to understand the issues they face, including determining any funding arrangements and implications for non-National Health Service organisations providing NHS services as a result of the 3% pay uplift for NHS staff. Health Education England provides comprehensive training for all health and care staff involved in palliative and end of life care through the end of life care for all resources. These are regularly updated and publicised throughout the system including to the hospice community.

Mental Health: Young People

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to include young people in efforts to tackle the mental health challenges for young people, which have been exacerbated by the covid-19 outbreak.

Gillian Keegan: The ‘Government Response to the Consultation on Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper and Next Steps’, agreed with consultation respondents that young people should continue to be involved in how we implement the proposals. We expect local areas to consider how to involve children and young people in taking forward their proposals.

DNACPR Decisions: Coronavirus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) investigations and (b) prosecutions into the unlawful use of blanket do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions taken during the covid-19 pandemic (i) are in progress, (ii) have been completed, and (iii) have been discontinued.

Maria Caulfield: The Department does not collect information on investigations or prosecutions relating to Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions. The Care Quality Commission continues to ensure providers understand their responsibilities if allegations of inappropriate application of DNACPR decisions are brought to their attention and raise cases as appropriate with the relevant bodies.

Pharmacy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with community pharmacies on the support those pharmacies can provide to the NHS through (a) supporting routine health care and (b) preparing people for the winter period.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has regular discussions with the community pharmacy sector. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 agrees a range of services support people to live healthily, including advice on minor illness and healthy living, to effectively use medications and services to identify people at risk of developing disease. Community pharmacy also has an increasing role in the flu and COVID-19 vaccination programmes and are offering free lateral flow testing.

NHS: Voluntary Work

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that volunteer capacity is available to support the NHS when needed.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England will shortly be launching a programme to further increase volunteering capacity available to National Health Service hospital and ambulance trusts via roles designed to reduce pressure on NHS services, support wellbeing of staff and enhance patient experience.We also continue to work closely with our partners in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector such as St John Ambulance Re:Act, the British Red Cross, Age UK and the Royal Voluntary Service. We continue to co-deliver the NHS Cadets programme, which aims to develop 10,000 new NHS Cadets within three years, we have a renewed focus on the Volunteer to Career pathway and we have partnered with #iwill and the Pears Foundation to identify new opportunities for young volunteers.

NHS: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help recruit staff to tackle the NHS backlog in medical procedures.

Edward Argar: Financial support is being made available to support recruitment initiatives, including a healthcare support worker programme and the introduction of medical support workers to provide additional capacity for clinical support roles and qualified doctors. The Landmark programme aims to attract those that have supported the pandemic response into permanent and flexible health and care careers and further responses are being developed by the National Health Service as part of its elective recovery planning process.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS has spent on private hospital facilities since the start of March 2020 for booked procedures that have failed to take place.

Edward Argar: The information request is not held centrally. Payments were made to independent providers on a cost recovery basis rather than by procedure or per bed, to use facilities as flexibly as needed.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS has spent on private hospital facilities that have gone unused since the start of March 2020.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not held centrally. Contracts for the bulk purchasing of hospital facilities on a cost recovery basis do not record unused capacity. The bulk purchasing of private hospital services ended on 31 March 2021.

Drugs: Northern Ireland

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medicines have been (a) pre-notified for withdrawal and (b) withdrawn from the Northern Ireland Market up to 31 August 2021.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of medicines being removed from the Northern Ireland Market as a result of the consequences of the Northern Ireland Protocol on the health of the people of Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: The Department regularly receives notifications of discontinuations and possible discontinuations from suppliers. However, we are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.The Government is considering all possible steps to help ensure the continuity of medicines in Northern Ireland. We are currently engaging with stakeholders to understand their plans for supplying medicines to Northern Ireland.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of private hospital services that were purchased in bulk during the covid-19 outbreak that were not used over the last 18 months.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not held centrally. Contracts for the bulk purchasing of hospital facilities on a cost recovery basis do not record unused capacity. The bulk purchasing of private hospital services ended on 31 March 2021.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 16 June 2021 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on oncology waiting times, reference ZA56777.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 24 September 2021.

NHS: Drugs

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support earlier engagement and horizon scanning between NHS England and the pharmaceutical industry, to identify solutions to drug pricing challenges that may be faced by new innovative treatments exceeding the Budget Impact Test threshold.

Edward Argar: The 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access made a joint commitment between the Government and the pharmaceutical industry for the National Health Service to have complete and accurate information about the products coming through the development pipeline. NHS England and NHS Improvement and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) committed to working together and with industry to develop and implement a joined-up approach to earlier engagement and case management. On 23 February 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement published the NHS commercial framework for new medicines setting out the opportunities for companies to engage with NHS England and NHS Improvement and NICE and the commercial options available.

NHS and Social Services: Coronavirus

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional mental health and wellbeing support his Department is making available to health and social care workers as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Edward Argar: Our package of support for all National Health Service staff includes access to health and wellbeing apps, a help and text service and enhanced practitioner health and professional nurse advocacy training. In addition, 40 dedicated mental health hubs are either established or currently mobilising across the country to proactively identify at-risk people and groups and focus on staff with more complex needs.Support for the adult social care workforce includes helplines, guidance, bereavement resources and a bespoke package for registered managers. We have announced an additional £500 million investment in the workforce, which will include funding for further development of our mental health and wellbeing resources and improve care workers’ access to occupational health.

NHS: Pay

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are employed by the NHS in a non-clinical capacity with a salary in excess of £160,000 as at 13 September 2021.

Edward Argar: NHS Digital produces information on staff earnings in the hospital and community health sector which covers staff working for hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England but does not cover the independent sector, social care or primary care. There were 383 staff with total earnings of at least £160,000 in National Health Service infrastructure support in the period April 2020 to March 2021, which is the latest data available.

Hospitals: Consultants

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has made with the British Medical Association on a pay rise for all NHS consultants.

Edward Argar: We are in regular contact with the British Medical Association and other National Health Service trade unions to work collaboratively in developing guidance and policy.The Government has looked to the independent Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) for a pay recommendation for NHS doctors and dentists not already in multi-year pay and contract reform deals.The DDRB recommended a uniform 3% pay uplift for medical staff not already in multi-year pay deals, which includes consultants. The Government has accepted the DDRB’s recommendation in full, meaning once implemented consultants will receive a 3% pay increase, backdated to April 2021.

Department of Health and Social Care: Flags

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of Union Jack flags purchased by his Department in each of the last two years were manufactured in the UK.

Edward Argar: Three Union flags were purchased by the Department in 2020/2021. There have been no purchases made to date during 2021/22. All flags purchased were manufactured in the United Kingdom.

Department of Health and Social Care: Flags

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which companies have supplied Union Jack flags to his Department since 2019.

Edward Argar: The Department has procured all flags from Flagmakers Limited, operating as part of Specialist Canvas Group, since 2019.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what preparations are being made to enable refugees from Afghanistan with medical or other health professional qualifications to work in the NHS.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will put training in place to assist refugees from Afghanistan to work in the social care sector.

Edward Argar: The National Health Service has several recruitment pathways for refugees based in the United Kingdom and in third countries, with the aim of supporting doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. Rapid induction training is available for all people joining the social care sector. We will work with stakeholders in these sectors and partners across the Government to understand what is needed to best support eligible refugees from Afghanistan.

Health Professions: Misconduct

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Professional Standards Authority entitled Bad apples? Bad barrels? Or bad cellars? Antecedents and processes of professional misconduct in UK Health and Social Care: Insights into sexual misconduct and dishonesty, published in 2017, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations in that report.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the report by the Professional Standards Authority, Sexual Misconduct In Health And Social Care: Understanding Types Of Abuse And Perpetrators’ Moral Mindsets, published in September 2019.

Edward Argar: The recommendations in the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care’s reports have been used by all of the statutory healthcare regulators as a basis for reviewing and aligning their own guidance to registrants on standards of professional behaviour. In addition, Fitness to Practise Committees consider the guidance when making decisions on sanctions in cases involving sexual misconduct by registrants to ensure they are proportionate and equitable across professions. Regulators have also committed to working with registrants, employers, education providers and other stakeholders to develop more effective ways to prevent sexual misconduct by registrants and to improve the detection of perpetrators of sexual misconduct.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 4 August 2021 to Question 35699 on Coronavirus: Contact Tracing, for what reason the information requested has not been provided in the same format as it has been for previous questions.

Maggie Throup: The information requested for Question 35699 is not yet available as it is being centrally validated.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Mr Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the requirement for a person entering a CQC registered care home to be vaccinated against covid-19 will  apply to people entering a care home who (a) don’t have contact with residents and (b) all other people.

Maggie Throup: The regulations will require all those who enter a care home to have received a complete course of their COVID-19 vaccination unless they are exempt. Any professionals visiting a care home will also be required to show they have been vaccinated before entering the home. The requirement does not apply to people who only work in the outdoor surrounding grounds of care home premises.The condition also does not apply to service users and their visiting friends or relatives, under 18 year olds, members of the emergency services carrying out their duties, people who are providing emergency assistance, people undertaking urgent maintenance work or those visiting service users who are dying or experiencing bereavement. Individuals who should not be vaccinated for clinical reasons can secure an exemption from the requirement.

Alcoholic Drinks: Children and Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to tackle alcohol consumption among children and young people.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of hospital admissions for significant alcohol consumption in children and young people.

Maggie Throup: Public Health England (PHE) works with other Government departments to support investment in programmes supporting young people to avoid the misuse of alcohol and drugs. In 2021/22 we are investing £3.3 billion in local government public health services, including treatment services which provide specialist support to children and young people affected by alcohol misuse.PHE’s Local Alcohol Profiles for England provide national and local data on alcohol-related harms, including a measure of the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions among 0 to 17 year olds over a three-year period. Hospital admission rates have more than halved over the past decade, from 72.1 per 100,000 between 2006/07 and 2008/09 to 30.7 per 100,000 between 2017/18 and 2019/20

Influenza: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to prioritise people for the flu vaccination in the same groups as for the covid-19 vaccination.

Maggie Throup: The prioritisation of cohorts eligible for a free flu vaccination varies from the COVID-19 vaccination cohorts for clinical reasons. Those eligible for the flu vaccine should seek to have their vaccine as soon as possible, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination cohort.

Travel: Quarantine

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what impact assessment he has carried out on the policy of requiring travellers to the UK from EU countries who are fully vaccinated against covid-19 to isolate when a member of their party has tested positive for covid-19.

Maggie Throup: No separate impact assessment has been made. Travellers to the United Kingdom are treated in the same way as any other individual. All those testing positive must self-isolate, regardless of vaccination status or where they were vaccinated. If they have been fully vaccinated in the UK, they are exempt from self-isolation if identified as a close contact. If they were vaccinated abroad, regardless of whether they received a vaccine approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, they are required to self-isolate if identified as a close contact.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help people who have participated in the NOVAX covid-19 trial to receive international recognition of their vaccination status.

Maggie Throup: The Government continues to make the case internationally, through groups such as the G7, G20, the European Commission and the World Health Organization, that COVID-19 vaccine trial participants should be treated the same in terms of certification as someone who has received a deployed vaccine. Ultimately it is for Governments to set their inbound travel policy, including for clinical trial participants on Novavax and other trials.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people who were participants in the Valneva vaccine trial have their vaccination status recognised by foreign countries for the purpose of international travel.

Maggie Throup: The Government continues to make the case internationally, including through groups such as the G7, G20, European Commission and the World Health Organization, that anyone on a COVID-19 vaccine trial should be treated the same in terms of certification as someone who has received a deployed vaccine. Ultimately it is for Governments to set their inbound travel policy, including for clinical trial participants on Valneva and other trials.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what resources his Department plans to provide to clinically extremely vulnerable people to improve their awareness of rates of covid-19 in their community; and what steps his Department is taking to protect the health and wellbeing of those people since the end of covid-19 shielding guidance.

Maggie Throup: There are no plans to provide specific resources. However, more information about the rates of COVID-19 in the last seven days in local authority areas is available at the following link: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ The COVID-19 vaccination programme is playing a key role in protecting the health and wellbeing of people formerly considered as clinically extremely vulnerable, most of who will be well protected by the vaccine. The vast majority of people who were on the Shielded Patient List will also be eligible for a booster vaccine to help maintain their protection against severe COVID-19. In addition, a range of mental health and wellbeing support is available to everyone, including those previously considered as clinically extremely vulnerable.

Influenza: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will expedite the distribution of the flu vaccination in 2021-22.

Maggie Throup: We have no plans to do so as local providers such as general practitioner practices and community pharmacies place orders for their flu vaccine stocks.The Department works closely with vaccine manufacturers to assess any delays on the delivery of flu vaccinations to ensure there is no impact to the flu programme.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether officials in his Department have consulted consumers of (a) vaping and (b) other reduced-risk products ahead of the Ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Maggie Throup: The Department has not consulted consumers on vaping or other reduced-risk products ahead of the Ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. However, the Department meets with the Independent British Vape Trade Association to discuss a range of policy and regulatory issues.

Electronic Cigarettes: Health Hazards

Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle misinformation on the harms of vaping relative to other nicotine delivery and tobacco products.

Maggie Throup: In 2022, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) will publish an independent review of the up-to-date evidence on the safety of vaping products. The review will include information about the relative harm of smoking and vaping.New guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), to be published in November 2021, will make recommendations about using electronic cigarettes to help people stop smoking.The OHID will use the upcoming NICE guidance publication as an opportunity to communicate with the public and healthcare professionals about the relative harms of using nicotine containing products and smoking to support an informed choice.

Oral Tobacco

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) creating a separate regulatory category for non-combustible nicotine products and (b) including snus in that category.

Maggie Throup: There are no current plans to make such an assessment. However, the Department is due to publish its post implementation review on the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 by the end of the year. Following this review, the Department will consider the need for any regulatory changes, including on non-combustible nicotine products and oral tobacco.

Travel: Quarantine

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on reducing the cost of hotel quarantine accommodation and its impact on the accessibility of holidays.

Maggie Throup: The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regularly discusses a range of issues with Cabinet colleagues on border health measures. On 17 September, the Government announced a simplified system for international travel providing greater stability for industry and passengers.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that vaccines administered to British citizens overseas are displayed on the UK's Vaccination Database and the NHS Medical Records Database.

Maggie Throup: The vaccination programme is developing an overseas vaccine service to support English citizens and residents. This will enable these vaccination events to appear in the national vaccine database and general practitioner records. The devolved administrations are considering establishing similar solutions. This service will be piloted by the end of September for wider deployment in early October. It will initially support the four vaccines recognised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and administered within the jurisdiction of a recognised medical regulator.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that British citizens vaccinated overseas and travelling for work purposes to and from the UK are able to acquire a vaccination passport.

Maggie Throup: The vaccination programme is developing an overseas vaccine service to support English citizens and residents. This will enable these vaccination events to appear in the national vaccine database and general practitioner records. The devolved administrations are considering establishing similar solutions. This will support those who have been vaccinated overseas and travelling for work who require a NHS COVID Pass. It will initially support the four vaccines recognised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and administered within the jurisdiction of a recognised medical regulator.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to publish the data and evidential basis to support any deviation from the advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on administration of a covid-19 vaccine to children aged between 12 and 15.

Maggie Throup: The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) advice to offer universal vaccination to children and young people aged 12 to 15 years old and the data and evidential basis underpinning it was published on 13 September at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-vaccination-of-children-and-young-people-aged-12-to-15-years-against-covid-19The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) noted in its advice of 3 September that while the health benefits of vaccinating healthy 12 to 15 year olds outweighed the risks, the margin was too small to recommend vaccination on health grounds alone. The JCVI therefore suggested that the Government may wish to seek further views on the wider societal and educational impacts from the UK CMOs, with representation from the JCVI in these subsequent discussions. Noting the advice of the JCVI, Health Ministers then requested that the UK CMOs consider the matter, in line with JCVI advice. Accepting the JCVI’s advice, the UK CMOs considered the wider public health benefits of universal vaccination for this age group.On 13 September, the Government accepted the advice of the UK CMOs to offer universal vaccination with a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine to children and young people aged 12 to 15 years old. This advice covers all those in this age group who were not already recommended for COVID-19 vaccination by existing advice from the JCVI.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to establish exemptions to vaccine passports for people who are medically exempt from covid-19 vaccinations.

Maggie Throup: Any venue adopting COVID-19 status checks as a condition of entry must comply with relevant legal obligations like the Equalities Act 2010 when deciding whether or not to accept self-declared medical exemptions. We will set out our plans shortly for a clinical review of medical exemptions which will enable individuals to show their COVID-19 status using the NHS COVID Pass.

Travel: Coronavirus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will recognise travellers from the EU and US as fully vaccinated where their first and second dose of covid-19 vaccinations are different approved vaccines.

Maggie Throup: From 22 September, travellers who have received a full course of COVID-19 vaccination, including any mix of approved vaccines, under the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Federal Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency or Swissmedic programmes are eligible for the reduced quarantine and testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers when travelling to the United Kingdom from non-‘red list’ countries.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Educational, Health Care Plans have been sought in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021 in (i) Bexley Borough, (ii) Greater London and (iii) England.

Will Quince: The initial requests for Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans relating to 2019 and 2020 are published at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1ff67fe5-249c-4a8e-b2a1-a172c1ae0b23.The department does not yet hold information on the number of initial requests for EHC plans in 2021, but this will be published in May 2022 at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.

Sex and Relationship Education: Females

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government is working with representatives of local Violence Against Women and Girls sector organisations to implement relationship and sex education.

Mr Robin Walker: The department has not engaged specifically with any local representatives of sector organisations focused on violence against women and girls in relation to the implementation of the new Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, which came into force in September 2020. The department commissioned Ofsted to undertake a review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges and they published their report in June 2021. The government accepted the findings in full. The department is developing a new support package for teachers, and we plan to engage with a range of stakeholders, including organisations with expertise in sexual abuse and violence against women and girls to inform that.We will publish non-statutory RSHE guidance covering specific topics mentioned by the Ofsted review and in response to the Violence against Women and Girls strategy.To support teachers further, we also plan to host a national webinar on specific topics in RSHE for teachers and other interested professionals using subject sector experts from the field and run smaller RSHE regional events to support teachers to network and share best practice.

T-levels: Young People

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to encourage more young people to study T Levels.

Alex Burghart: We want as many young people as possible to benefit from T Levels. The T Level communications campaign launched in October 2019, aimed at potential students and parents of 14-16 year olds. We are working with the Careers and Enterprise Company to ensure that careers staff can articulate their benefits to students and have included T Levels in the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge programme, which offers free support and resources to schools to upskill their staff.We continue to support T Level providers with their recruitment, and going forward T Levels will be part of a new ‘Young People’s Futures’ campaign. This will support 14-19 year olds to understand the range of education, training and work options open to them, including T Levels. T Levels also feature in our Employer Support campaign, helping to increase awareness nationally.

T-levels: Bury South

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of T Levels on social mobility in Bury South constituency.

Alex Burghart: The provision of high-quality technical education is key to improving social mobility, and we want as many young people as possible to benefit from T Levels. The introduction of T Levels will help raise the standard of technical education, so that it is seen as equal in esteem to our world class academic route. The industry placement element of T Levels helps to build students’ employability skills, developing their confidence in the workplace and giving young people from all backgrounds a head start in accessing skilled work. T Levels carry UCAS points in line with three A levels so will also allow progression to higher education. We have also developed a T Level Transition Programme, which is aimed at students who have potential to complete a T Level but need extra support.The first T Level providers are situated across the country and we have ensured they are represented in opportunity areas. From this academic year, Bury College and other providers in the wider Bury area began offering T Levels, boosting access to high quality technical education for young people in the area.

T-levels

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to encourage more colleges and schools to provide T Levels.

Alex Burghart: We are introducing T Levels in a phased implementation with the number of providers increasing year on year. Just over 100 providers are now teaching T Levels and from next September this number will rise to around 200. For this initial rollout we selected high performing providers to ensure high-quality from the start. Providers are now registering their interest to deliver T Levels from 2023 at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-register-to-deliver-t-levels-in-2023-to-2024-academic-year, and we have seen a positive response to this.We continue to work closely with sector representatives, such as the Association of Colleges and Association of School and College Leaders, as well as academy trusts and local/combined authorities to raise awareness and encourage providers to register for 2023 delivery.

T-levels: Bury South

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students studying T Levels in Bury South constituency (a) there were in the 2020-21 academic year and (b) there are in the 2021-22 academic year.

Alex Burghart: We are introducing T Levels in a phased implementation - 43 providers started teaching these pioneering qualifications last September to around 1,300 students. In this first wave of rollout, no providers based specifically in Bury offered T Levels.From this September, provider numbers have grown to just over 100, which includes Bury College. In the wider area providers include Hopwood Hall, Bolton College and Oldham College. Providers are still enrolling students at this point and data on student numbers nationally will be available later in the autumn, with provider level data available next year.Keeping provider numbers small in these initial stages of rollout has meant we can work closely with them to ensure a high-quality start. Feedback from students and providers involved in the first year of teaching has been positive.

T-levels

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to encourage more businesses to offer T Level placements.

Alex Burghart: We have provided an extensive programme of employer and provider support to help with the delivery of high-quality industry placements. We have invested £165 million over the past 3 years to help providers build their capacity and relationships with employers and we have published practical industry placement delivery guidance for both providers and employers. We are engaging directly with employers through the National Apprenticeship Service to provide a strong pipeline of employers ready to offer placements and there is a comprehensive package of support available for employers offering online guidance, webinars and direct hands-on support to help them prepare for industry placements. We have established a T Level employer ambassador network to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and placements, and we are further developing our communications materials to continue to raise the profile of T Levels to an employer audience. We have also recently put in place a short-term incentive fund, offering employers £1,000 per industry placement, to encourage employer engagement in the post COVID-19 outbreak period.

Ministry of Justice

Immigration and Employment Tribunals Service: Administrative Delays

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle the backlog of cases before the immigration and employment tribunals in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) Greater London and (c) England.

James Cartlidge: Despite the enormous challenges they have faced during the last 18 months, both the Employment Tribunals and Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC) remained open throughout the pandemic. Both the employment tribunals and the IAC have adapted to remote ways of working and running hearings virtually, to ensure ongoing access to justice where cases cannot be heard in person. The IAC has also expanded the online Reform service (MyHMCTS) to enable most appellants to engage with the tribunal digitally. We have run ambitious recruitment campaigns across both jurisdictions, to expand our judicial capacity and boost caseworker numbers. This has been bolstered in the employment tribunal by a significant increase in our sitting day allocation for FY21/22, from 30k (FY20/21) to 37.5k (FY21/22).

Mother and Baby Units: Prisons

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mothers assessed as suitable to keep their baby with them on the prison estate were not able to due to a lack of mother and baby placements in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Victoria Atkins: No mother has been denied a place on a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in the Women’s Custodial Estate due to lack of capacity since 2017, when current data collection commenced.

Prisoners: Females

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average distance is for a woman placed in the prison system to their home.

Victoria Atkins: As of 17 September 2021, a woman in prison was on average 46 miles from their origin address.There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring and locating prisoners, and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, including their security assessment, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. HMPPS is committed to ensuring, where practicable, that prisoners are accommodated as close as possible to their resettlement communities and families. Whilst this is a priority, it is not always possible due to a variety of factors including wider population pressures, or where women have specific sentence planning needs which can only be met at certain establishments. Around 97% of prisoners have an origin location; i.e. addresses that are recorded in our central IT system. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. This information is included in the data provided above. Those with no recorded origin are typically foreign nationals or those recently received into custody. The numerical information provided has been drawn from administrative IT systems, which as with any large scale recording system are subject to possible error with data entry and processing.

Styal Prison: Repairs and Maintenance

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP/YOI Styal 2021, published on 8 September 2021, what steps he is taking to ensure that maintenance and refurbishment works at HMP/YOI Styal are (a) completed in a timely manner and (b) value for money.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP/YOI Styal 2021, published on 8 September 2021, over what timescale works to ensure (a) fire safety, (b) other health and safety and (c) decency is restored to all accommodation at HMP/YOI Styal will be completed.

Victoria Atkins: We are working closely with the facilities management provider Amey to manage any maintenance and refurbishment projects.We are currently producing a report which covers fire risks, decency and structural integrity of the prison and an outline business case for a fire safety improvement project.Initially the contractor’s supply chain had a limited number of suppliers, which resulted in cost estimates for work submitted being excessive and these were rejected by the MoJ team. The MoJ has instructed that the supply chain is broadened to include more SME companies to tender for these works. This determination to use SME companies has led to some delays but it means that there are much better procurement options that will provide more effective and value for money solutions.The local Service Delivery Manager will continue to challenge all costs which they feel are excessive and escalate them to the Regional Estates Manager, who has regular commercial and project meetings with the contractor’s management. The Service Delivery Manager also monitors the on-site performance and will check repairs and any projects to ensure they have been completed and are to the required standard.

Probation: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of recruitment and retention of probation officers in (a) Enfield and (b) Greater London.

Kit Malthouse: The Probation Service is committed to increasing recruitment to fill Probation Officer vacancies, particularly in areas with significant local employment market challenges. The Probation Service recruited a total of 1,007 trainee probation officers in 2020/2021 and are committed to recruiting 1,500 trainee probation officers in 2021/2022.Following the transfer of over 7,000 staff from private sector Community Rehabilitation Companies into the Probation Service at the end of June 2021, there were 4,456 full time equivalent (FTE) Band 4 probation officers in post nationally as at 30 June 2021. This figure is an increase of 844 (23.4%) since 30 June 2020 and an increase of 919 FTE (26%) probation officers compared to 31 March 2021. In June 2021, there were 637 probation officers and 225 trainee probation officers in post in the London Probation Service. One probation officer joined the Local Delivery Unit cluster Barnet, Brent and Enfield between June 2014 to June 2021. Overall, 50 probation officers joined the London Probation Service between 2014/2015 to June 2021/2022. The leaving rate for probation officers at the London Probation Service was 7.5% for 12 months to 30 June 2021. Over the past seven years, the leaving rate has varied between 6.1% and 10.9%.The leaving rate for probation officers at the LDU cluster Barnet, Brent and Enfield was 8.7% for 12 months to 30 June 2021. Over the past seven years the leaving rate has varied between 4.1% and 11.8%.The first National Probation Service Recruitment & Retention Strategy was published internally to all Probation Service staff in April following extensive engagement with colleagues and stakeholders across Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.  At the centre of this strategy is our commitment to make sure we have great people, in the right roles, with the resources they need to do their jobs in the probation service.

Community Orders and Suspended Sentences: Coronavirus

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that people who were given requirements as part of a community order or suspended sentence order but were unable to undertake them as a result of covid-19 restrictions complete those requirements.

Kit Malthouse: Throughout the pandemic, the Probation Service has worked hard to minimise the disruption caused by COVID-19. It has been keeping the public safe by prioritising accredited programmes for offenders who pose the highest risk of harm and developing alternatives where formal in-person programmes have not been possible. Group work resumed in April. The Government is also clear that people whose unpaid work requirements have been impacted by the pandemic should work their hours and the Probation Service is working closely with the judiciary and HM Courts and Tribunal Service to extend community orders, where necessary, so hours can be worked.

Probation: Staff

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) probation officers and (b) Probation Service officers have left the service every year since Transforming Rehabilitation was announced.

Kit Malthouse: The information requested, from 1st June 2014, can be found at: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ‘Transforming rehabilitation: a strategy for reform’ was published on 9th May 2013. The National Probation Service (NPS) came into existence on 1st June 2014. The Ministry of Justice do not hold Probation Officer or Probation Service Officers leavers data from the previous Probation Trusts’ for the period between the announcement on 9th May 2013 to the point the NPS was formed on 1st June 2014 or for Community Rehabilitation Companies from the 1st of June 2014 until the services unified in June 2021.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

British Indian Ocean Territory: Mauritius

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the French Government's support for Mauritius' claim to sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory on UK national security.

Wendy Morton: France continues to be a valued and longstanding ally and security partner for the UK. The French Government has a longstanding approach to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) which has not changed since our last assessment.

Myanmar: Politics and Government

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the political situation in Myanmar.

Amanda Milling: The UK Government condemns the military coup in Myanmar, the violence against the people of Myanmar and the detention of members of the civilian government and civil society, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The state of emergency, and all restrictions on rights and freedoms, should be lifted immediately and power should be returned to a democratically elected government. I [Minister Milling] am particularly concerned at recent reports of significant, indiscriminate violence by the military in Chin State, and elsewhere in the country. The UK is committed to supporting a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Mauritius

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans she has to impose sanctions against Mauritius in relation to its attempts to overturn the 1968 Treaty granting sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to the UK; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the actions of the Government of Mauritius on UK national security.

Wendy Morton: The UK and Mauritius remain close friends and Commonwealth partners. We remain open to dialogue on all shared issues of mutual interest, including the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and its Marine Protected Area (MPA). The joint United Kingdom - United States defence facility on BIOT helps to keep people in Britain and around the world safe. For over 40 years the facility has helped the United Kingdom, United States, other allies and our regional partners, including Mauritius, combat some of the most challenging threats to international peace and security, including those from terrorism and piracy. This is only possible under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. The joint facility is the result of a uniquely close and active defence and security partnership between two long-standing allies.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Defence

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK, US and Australia security partnership announced on 15 September 2021, what recent assessment she has made of the potential future strategic importance of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Wendy Morton: The joint United Kingdom - United States defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) helps to keep people in Britain and around the world safe. For over 40 years the facility has helped the United Kingdom, United States, other allies and our regional partners, including Mauritius, combat some of the most challenging threats to international peace and security, including those from terrorism and piracy. The facility also remains ready for a rapid and impactful response in times of humanitarian crisis in the region and plays  an important role in maintaining the Global Positioning System, space debris avoidance for the International Space Station, and prevention of satellite collisions. These functions are only possible under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. The joint facility is the result of a uniquely close and active defence and security partnership between two long-standing allies. We have a long-standing commitment, first made in 1965, to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.

Paul Rusesabagina

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the conviction of Paul Rusesabagina in Rwanda on 20 September 2021.

Vicky Ford: Rwanda has made significant progress on social and economic rights in recent years, and we work in partnership on a range of priorities including girls' education, building back from COVID-19, climate and the Commonwealth. But the UK Government remains concerned about restrictions on civil and political rights. On 21 September I publicly stated that the UK shares the concerns of our international partners about due process in the case of Paul Rusesabagina and his co-accused, and that whilst there must be accountability for violence against civilians, we will always defend the right to a fair trial. We regularly raise specific cases of concern with the Government of Rwanda and the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, and call for due process for all those in detention.

Afghanistan: Asylum

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to respond individually to asylum cases from Afghanistan raised by hon. Members with her predecessor.

Amanda Milling: Responding to MPs' cases and correspondence remains a top priority for the Government and the FCDO has been working tirelessly to undertake the task. Staff from across the global FCDO network have been pulled into the crisis surge team along with colleagues from MOD and HMRC. As Minister Cleverly said in the House on 9 September, we are determined to work with the Home Office and the MOD to assess all cases which have come through to us as quickly as possible. Cases which are to be dealt with by the MoD under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Home Office under the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme will be passed on to the relevant Department. The team at the FCDO is thoroughly analysing to ensure they go to the right Department. Asylum applications will be handled by the Home Office and would not be for the FCDO to answer in detail.

Myanmar: Food Aid

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of demand for food assistance in Myanmar (a) for internally displaced people, (b) in Kachin, and (c) in Northern Shan.

Amanda Milling: The UK remains one of the leading donors supporting the humanitarian response in Myanmar. Since the coup, we have provided £15.3 million in humanitarian funding for the Red Cross, UN, and local and International Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Where necessary, we have also reprioritised humanitarian funding towards urgent needs, including food and Covid assistance, in Kachin, Shan, Chin and the Southeast. Over the last year the UK has been building up the humanitarian response capacity of communities themselves through partners. This has enabled the UK to get support to very hard to reach communities. Through a network of local responders and communities, 25,000 newly displaced people have been reached with cash and emergency food support in Northern Shan. In Kachin, our partners have reached over 7,500 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) with food and cash assistance. UK support has been critical in covering major food gaps in several IDP camps between March and August 2021, when other partners could not reach or support these people. The UK remains strongly committed to helping those most in need in Myanmar.

Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of British citizens currently in Afghanistan.

Amanda Milling: Between 15-28 August over 8,000 British nationals and dependents were evacuated from Afghanistan. Additionally the FCDO has supported over 60 British nationals and their eligible dependants to leave Afghanistan on Qatari Government charter flights. We continue to work to support British nationals and their dependants to leave Afghanistan if that is their wish. We expect British people to take responsibility for themselves and their safety while overseas. The FCDO does not routinely ask British nationals to register with a British Embassy or High Commission overseas. Recognising the circumstances in Afghanistan, British nationals still in Afghanistan were asked to register their continued presence to allow the FCDO to maintain contact after the evacuation phase ended. We use this information to communicate with British nationals and assess the data provided by those who have registered.

Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to repatriate British citizens from Afghanistan.

Amanda Milling: Under Operation PITTING, our armed forces and Civil Service staff worked around the clock to evacuate around 15,000 people - including around 8,000 British Nationals. We evacuated more British nationals and their families than we previously thought were in Afghanistan. Working closely with the Government of Qatar we have supported a further 60+ British nationals and their dependents leave Kabul. Our immediate focus is on ensuring safe passage for anyone remaining in Afghanistan who is eligible to come to the UK and wishes to leave. We continue to work closely with the Qatari authorities to facilitate the evacuation of British nationals from Kabul. Rapid Deployment Teams have been sent to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reinforce our Embassy staff to process arrivals from Afghanistan. Teams have also deployed to Qatar and UAE to assist our operations there and we are providing consular support to British nationals who were evacuated by other allies, including via US airbases in Europe.

Israel: Jordan

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help improve relations between Israel and Jordan.

James Cleverly: Both Jordan and Israel are close friends and partners of the UK. We welcome recent engagement between the two, including the meeting between PM Bennett and HM King Abdullah II on 29 June, and new bilateral agreements on water and trade. During her meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Safadi on Monday 20 September, the Foreign Secretary discussed how the UK, Jordan and Israel could work together to advance regional security and prosperity.

Western Sahara: Armed Forces

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 21 January 2021 to Question 142052; Western Sahara: armed forces how many Moroccan soldiers are based (a) along the berm and (b) elsewhere in Western Sahara.

Amanda Milling: According to the UN, Morocco maintains a significant security presence in Western Sahara, primarily in fortified positions along a berm running the entire length of the territory.

Ministry of Defence

Warships: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether military trials of transferring F-35B engines to ships within the UK Carrier Strike Group have been carried out.

James Heappey: We have not trialled the transfer of F-35B engines to the Carrier Strike Group from the United Kingdom. However, we have an established logistics supply chain should there be a need to transfer F-35B engines to HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH.

Ministry of Defence: ARMSCOR

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the commercial relationship between Armscor and his Department.

Jeremy Quin: Armscor (Armaments Corporation of South Africa) is the acquisition agency for the South African Department of Defence (and also acts for the Department on disposals). The Defence Equipment Sales Authority entered into a Framework Agreement with Armscor in November 2020, to broaden its marketing capabilities. The Ministry of Defence has no contracts with Armscor and to date there have been no commercial sales as part of this agreement.

Defence Equipment: Exports

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the countries to which his Department has exported defence equipment in the past twelve months through FMS.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence has not exported any defence equipment as US Foreign Military Sales.

Department for Work and Pensions

Poverty: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish a strategy on lifting children out of all forms of poverty.

David Rutley: This Government is wholly committed to supporting low-income families through range of measures including by increasing the national living wage and by spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22. With record numbers of vacancies, our focus is on helping people back into work as quickly as possible. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty. Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes at people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people. To provide additional support for children in low income households, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. And we are investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has been expanded to every Local Authority across England. Participating children are benefitting from a range of support, including healthy and nutritious meals as well as fun and engaging activities covering the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.

Energy: Prices

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the context of the potential increase in energy bills in the coming months, what assessment she has made of the planned end of the £20 uplift in universal credit on claimants' ability to heat their homes.

David Rutley: No assessment has been made. The Cold Weather Payment (CWP) scheme helps vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet the additional costs of heating during periods of severe cold weather. Cold Weather Payments are targeted at those in receipt of eligible benefits with a pension element or disability component or where there is a child under five in the household.The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.​Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.

Universal Credit: Learning Disability

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with a learning disability moving from legacy benefits to universal credit do not receive a reduction in their benefits.

David Rutley: Many individuals moving to Universal Credit will find themselves better off. Universal Credit will provide an extra £2.1bn a year once fully rolled out, compared to the system it replaces. Universal Credit is fundamentally different to existing benefits and tax credits and claims cannot be compared like for like. For claimants previously entitled to Severe Disability Premium, we have introduced the Universal Credit Transitional Provisions Amendment Regulations 2021 and these came into force on 27 January 2021. The Regulations ensure that a transitional Severe Disability Element remains available for new claims to Universal Credit following a change of circumstances made on or after 27 January 2021. In addition, all eligible legacy claimants who will be required to claim Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process will be awarded, where necessary, Transitional Protection to ensure that their initial entitlement to Universal Credit is not less than their final entitlement to legacy benefits. The Government encourages anybody to go on GOV.UK and use one of the independent benefit calculators to check carefully their eligibility, because on applying for UC their entitlement to legacy benefits will cease and they will not be able to return to them in the future. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits. They can get help through the government funded Help to Claim scheme as well as the Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland

Universal Credit

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what forecasts her Department has made on the potential impact of the end of support under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on claimant rates for universal credit.

David Rutley: The Department works with the Office for Budget Responsibility to produce Universal Credit forecasts, including ahead of the Autumn Budget. The next forecast is due to be published on 27th October.

Workplace Pensions: Young People

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on (a) extending Automatic Enrolment to workers under 22 and (b) removing the automatic enrolment lower earnings threshold by the mid-2020s.

Guy Opperman: We are committed to implementing the 2017 Automatic Enrolment Review ambitions in the mid-2020s, lowering the age for being automatically enrolled from 22 to 18 and abolishing the automatic enrolment lower earnings limit, so that contributions are payable from the first pound of earnings. In this way we will expand coverage of the successful workplace pension reforms and increase the amounts being put into retirement savings by millions of workers, particularly younger people and lower earners. The 2017 Review report was clear that implementation will be subject to learning from previous workplace pension contribution increases, discussions with employers and others on the right approach, and finding ways to make these changes affordable. We will do this in light of the impact of the pandemic and our overall support for economic recovery, while continuing to support long-term saving, balancing the needs of savers, employers and tax-payers.

Carer's Allowance

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a phased approach for the reduction of carers allowance payments to claimants who permanently stop their caring duties, as a means of reducing the potential for financial hardship.

Chloe Smith: Entitlement to Carer's Allowance can continue for up to eight weeks following the death of the disabled person who was being cared for. This eight-week run-on helps carers who have recently been bereaved by giving them some time to adapt to their new circumstances.When caring ceases for any reason, carers may have access to means-tested and other benefits depending upon their circumstances.

Personal Independence Payment

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 20 September 2021, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Update, HCWS294, how her Department plans to prioritise PIP claims for review as part of the Administrative Exercise.

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 20 September 2021, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Update, HCWS294, whether her Department plans to review the PIP claims of deceased claimants as part of the Administrative Exercise; and whether posthumous backdated payments will be made to the family of claimants where it has been found that more support should have been given.

Chloe Smith: As part of this exercise we are prioritising cases of terminally ill claimants. The remainder of cases will be reviewed in chronological order, starting with the earliest cases first. I can also confirm it is the Department’s policy to review cases where the claimant is now deceased to ensure that their next of kin receive payments.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by which date recording equipment will be in place at all personal independent payment assessment centres to support disabled claimants.

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) suspending personal independent payment assessments (PIP) until recording equipment is provided and (b) allowing disabled claimants to be granted the right to refuse a PIP assessment without punitive action until a recording provision is in place.

Chloe Smith: The department continues to work closely with both Independent Assessment Services (IAS) and Capita to deliver an audio recording service for Personal Independent Payment (PIP) face to face assessments that removes the requirement for the claimant to provide the equipment. Arrangements are being finalised and we hope to have this in place as soon as practicably possible. At present, claimants may use their own equipment to record their face to face assessment, should they wish to, as stated in the PIP Assessment Guide (PIPAG). The option for a claimant to request an audio recording of their Personal Independent Payment (PIP) telephone assessment is available with both assessment providers. PIP assessments will not be suspended whilst we are working to deliver an audio recording service for face to face assessments that removes the requirement for the claimant to provide the equipment. Claimants are not penalised if they are unwilling to attend an assessment until their request for audio recording can be fulfilled. Any claimants who request an audio recording of their face to face assessment will be given the option of waiting for this to be implemented before their assessment takes place. In the meantime, claimants may use their own equipment to record their face to face assessment, should they wish to, as stated in the PIP Assessment Guide (PIPAG).

Universal Credit

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average universal credit award is in (a) Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency and (b) the UK.

David Rutley: The mean amount of Universal Credit awarded for households in Great Britain is published and can be found in Table 2 of the Households on Universal Credit dataset at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ This table can be filtered by Westminster Parliamentary Constituency. Guidance on how to extract information from Stat-Xplore can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html The statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Department for Communities and can be found at:https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/universal-credit-statistics

Universal Credit

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2021 to Question 48169 on universal credit, if she will revise the calculations for the National Living Wage to include the taper rate.

David Rutley: The National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage are set annually on the basis of recommendations from the independent Low Pay Commission, an independent body of employers, unions and experts. On 1 April 2021, following the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, workers on the National Living Wage saw a 2.2% pay increase to £8.91 an hour. The April 2021 increase in the National Living Wage represents an increase of over £345 to the annual gross earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage, equivalent to a total increase in annual gross earnings of around £4,030 since the introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016. The Government is committed to raising the National Living Wage through its long term target to reach two-thirds of median earnings, and extending to those aged 21 and over by 2024. Universal Credit promotes work as an effective route out of poverty. The single universal credit taper means that as earnings increase, above any applicable work allowance, Universal Credit payments reduce by less than the earnings, meaning claimants can clearly understand the advantages of work.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food and Drinks: Vacancies

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the effective operation of food and drink supply chains in the context of labour shortages.

Victoria Prentis: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on access to a range of sources, including robust supply chains domestically, and from other countries. Government has well established ways of working with the industry monitor and address risks that may arise. Measures currently in place to ease supply chain pressures include a relaxation to driver's hours rules and food retail delivery hours restrictions. Up to 5,500 poultry workers and 5,000 HGV drivers transporting food and fuel will be able to enter the UK for work in the lead up to Christmas 2021. Defra continues to work closely across Government and with key stakeholders to assess how we can best facilitate food supply sectors to operate normally through this period. The Government is also working closely with the industry on specific measures to support the logistics sector as it experiences shortages of qualified HGV drivers, including a package of measures to support recruitment and retention of new drivers. We are encouraging all industry sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and investment in automation technology. In 2021 and beyond, food and farming businesses also continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Over 5.3 million EU citizens and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme and EU nationals who have settled status can continue to travel to the UK to do work in the food and drink sector in 2021.

Agriculture: Technology

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support innovation and the use of new technology by farmers.

Victoria Prentis: The Government is investing to unlock innovation and translate our world leading research into practical farmer-led solutions that improve the productivity, sustainability and resilience of agriculture and move towards net zero emission farming systems. Our £90 million investment in the ‘Transforming Food Production’ (TFP) challenge, launched in 2018, is supporting ground-breaking research and development so farmers will be able to harness the latest technology to produce high quality food, increase their productivity and move towards net zero emission farming systems by 2040. This will put the UK at the forefront of advanced sustainable agriculture and food production while reducing emissions, pollution, waste and soil erosion. We have also recently launched a £14.5 million Defra-funded collaborative agricultural Research & Development competition ‘Farming Innovation Pathways’ targeting existing and new farm focused innovation, which will also be delivered through the TFP initiative. In Autumn we are building on this momentum and launching a new R&D funding package for England as part of the proposed measures to stimulate innovation and boost sustainable productivity in agriculture and horticulture as we move away from the CAP system of farming subsidy payments. The Farming Innovation Programme will de-risk industry investment in innovation and pull-through R&D to deliver farmer-led solutions to common challenges and opportunities. Our ambitious proposals for future investment in R&D for England will enable more farmers and agri-food businesses to become involved in R&D, maximising the impact of investment and improving the take up of innovation on farms. Later this year we will also be opening the new Farming Investment Fund which will provide grants to farmers, foresters and growers (including contractors to these sectors) so that they can invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and enhancing the environment. These grants will help producers to focus on more efficient production methods that will reduce resource costs, improve yields, and give them a better return.

Food: Public Sector

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage local public sector bodies to procure locally produced food.

Victoria Prentis: We have a manifesto commitment to encourage the public sector to buy British. To help meet this commitment, we will be consulting on proposals to strengthen the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services early in 2022. The consultation will seek views on ways to promote greater take-up of local produce and make public procurement more accessible to SMEs. We are also working across Government to identify and trial innovative approaches to public food procurement. This includes a pilot in the South West, in collaboration with Crown Commercial Services, aimed at simplifying the route into the public sector for local and sustainable SME businesses. If successful, the trial could be rolled out nationally, extending opportunities to food producers from all regions and nations of the UK.

Livestock: Air Pollution

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to reduce methane and CO2 emissions from animal agriculture in order to help meet the UK's net zero emissions target.

Victoria Prentis: The Government is committed to take action to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impact. We are introducing three schemes that reward environmental benefits: the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery. Together, these schemes are intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and our commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy. Through these schemes, farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering public goods, including adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. The Agricultural Transition Plan outlined how the government will support farmers and land managers by investing the money freed up from phasing out direct payments to pay for improvements to the environment, improve animal health and welfare and reduce carbon emissions. Defra takes a key role in supporting emissions reduction by providing scientific advice and evidence. This includes long term breeding work to develop more efficient, productive and resilient crops and livestock, as well as research on more efficient feeding strategies for livestock. Innovation in livestock feeds is resulting in promising technologies to reduce methane emissions. We have commissioned work to holistically evaluate suitability, scalability and net mitigation effects of methane-inhibiting livestock feed supplements in a UK context. More detail on the Government plans to help the UK meet its climate targets will be set out in the Net Zero strategy, to be published ahead of COP26.

Food Supply

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that UK food security is incorporated into the Government’s national emergency preparedness.

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to maintain UK (a) food security and (b) self-sufficiency in key food products.

Victoria Prentis: Food supply is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are joint Lead Government Departments (LGDs), Defra leading on supply and the FSA on food safety. As such we work closely with the Cabinet Office and other LGDs ensuring food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors. The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on access to a range of sources, including robust supply chains domestically, and from a diverse range of other stable countries. We produce 60% of our entire food supply need, and that increases to 74% for indigenous food that we can grow or rear here in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have been steady over the past 20 years. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply. Defra and the FSA have well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. The Government has a duty to report triennially on food security in Section 19 of the Agriculture Act 2020. The reports will cover a range of current issues relevant to food security including the resilience of the food supply chain. The first such report is due to be published before 25th December 2021.

Food: Exports

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to involve (a) Leicestershire and (b) other food and drink producing counties in the development of a marketing strategy for British food exports.

Victoria Prentis: The Government has a manifesto commitment that ‘we want people, both at home and abroad, to be lining up to buy British’.We are working with the sector to raise domestic and international awareness of the UK’s growing reputation for high-quality food and drink produced to high standards of food safety, animal welfare and sustainability. This will provide a catalyst for growth for all regions of the UK and increase global recognition of the UK as an innovative food nation.Defra works in tandem with the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Cabinet Office to deliver the food and drink pillar of the GREAT campaign, which helps businesses to succeed in overseas markets by building global recognition of UK excellence in food and drink. The campaign showcases exemplar food and drink products from all parts of the UK, including quality local and protected food and drink from our regions. For example, in recent activity we have highlighted traditional Melton Mowbray pork pies, Red Leicester cheese and craft gin from Leicestershire. The GREAT food and drink campaign is focused on priority markets, including the USA, China, Japan and the UAE. Activity is being planned across all priority markets for the coming year, where we will work with UK businesses and UK overseas posts to promote the best of UK food and drink on the international stage. In addition, the Government is appointing more dedicated ‘agri-food attachés’ to act as representatives on the ground to unlock key markets across the world. This will build on the excellent teams already working in our Embassies around the world. We are also establishing a Food and Drink Exports Council to work collaboratively to expand our food and drink exports strategy. In tandem, we are strengthening our technical expertise as well as our farmers and producers’ understanding of export markets to ensure that food and drink exporters are able to benefit from market opportunities.We are providing food and drink companies with advice and tools to build export capability. DIT recently launched its Open Doors campaign with a focus on the food and drink sector. This provides companies with access to online tutorials, webinars, mentoring and specialist advice to help them capitalise on export opportunities across the world.Taken together, this range of initiatives will support food and drink businesses from across the UK to access growing opportunities to export.

Tree Planting

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees have been planted in England in the last five years.

Rebecca Pow: The Forestry Commission produces statistics on all new planting of woodland for the UK. These can be found in Forestry Statistics and in Provisional Woodland Statistics: 2021 edition on the Forest Research website. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares. The latest available figures are for 2020-21. For all new planting of woodland since 2020-21, there is also a published estimate of the approximate number of trees this represents available from the Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators on the gov.uk website.The areas of new planting (woodland creation) for England taken from the published statistics are shown below:Year (ending 31 March)New planting in England (thousand hectares)New planting in England (estimated number of trees)2016-171.15..2017-181.50..2018-191.42..2019-202.34..2020-21 (provisional)2.184,252,0002021-22 quarter 1 partial interim report0.47926,000Source: Forestry Commission, Forestry England, grant schemes and with estimates for areas planted without grant aid.Planting rates in 2020/21 were impacted by Covid-19. The England Tree Action Plan published in May 2021 stated our aim to at least treble tree planting rates in England by end of this Parliament.Note 1: ‘..’ denotes data not available. Estimates of numbers of trees in newly-planted woodland are incomplete for years before 2020-21.Note 2: Estimates for areas planted without grant aid are believed to be under-reported and, as a result, the reported figures are likely to under-estimate the true level of planting activity. For England, woodland planting funded by sources other than the Countryside Stewardship Woodland Creation Grant and the former English Woodland Creation Grant, the Woodland Carbon Fund and the High Speed 2 Woodland Fund, include planting supported by the Woodland Trust, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the National Forest Company, in the Northern Forest, and by the Community Forests.

Home Office

Passports: Applications

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what HM Passport Office's current timescale is for processing applications for a British passport.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement, published on 13 September 2021, what the UKVI's timeframe is for contacting recent arrivals as part of the ARAP Scheme or Afghan Locally Employed Staff Scheme in respect of their leave arrangements.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Notices of Intent have been issued to Afghan asylum seekers in the UK (a) prior to and (b) since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on 15 August 2021.

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to issue Afghan asylum seekers in the UK with Notices of Intent, in response to the Taliban takeover of August 2021.

Tom Pursglove: The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of notices of intent issued and can be found online at:How many people do we grant asylum or protection to? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)A breakdown of these figures into nationality is not currently available.Afghan asylum seekers continue to be issued with notices of intent where appropriate. Inadmissibility rules apply to all nationals where it is considered that there has been an earlier presence or connection to a safe third country.We have been clear that people should claim asylum in the first safe country that they reach and should not seek to enter the UK illegally. Our New Plan for Immigration underpins this principle.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Afghan nationals who were called forward or authorised for evacuation under the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme who made their own way to the UK after being unable to board airlift flights will be permitted to stay in the UK under that scheme and granted indefinite leave to remain.

Victoria Atkins: Those notified by the UK that they had been called forward, but were unable to board evacuation flights, will be offered a place on the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Efforts are ongoing to facilitate travel to the UK from the region for this group. Further information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement. Those who are eligible under ACRS will be granted ILR in the UK.Those who arrive in the UK via irregular routes are able to claim asylum. The Government is clear that people should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives making dangerous journeys.

Immigration: Afghanistan

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process her Department is using to upgrade the immigration status of Afghans who arrived in the UK and were granted six months leave to enter outside the rules but who are now eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department expects Afghan nationals who were in the UK before 2 September 2021 with limited leave under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy, including through the Afghan Locally Employed Staff Scheme, to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain; and how that process is being managed.

Victoria Atkins: Details of the type of leave to be granted to those arriving from Afghanistan, and how they will be supported in obtaining that leave, can be found in the Afghanistan Resettlement and Immigration policy statement.The Home Office has established a dedicated caseworking team, which is working jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. This team will contact all those who recently arrived to discuss their leave arrangements and ensure they get the right form of leave.Those who are here with limited leave under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy can apply to convert this to indefinite leave to remain at any time before their limited leave expires.The policy statement can be viewed here: Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Afghanistan

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to begin consultations with the UNHCR in order to facilitate the resettlement of Afghan refugees as part of the Afghan citizens' resettlement scheme.

Victoria Atkins: Ministers and officials have met regularly with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in recent weeks to discuss the international response to the situation in Afghanistan, including the establishment of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).The Government will continue to work closely with the UNHCR in the development of the ACRS and in the operation of our other resettlement schemes.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of suspending the requirement for biometrics for Afghan (a) nationals ineligible under Operation Pitting trying to join British citizens or settled persons in the UK and (b) family members of refugees already in the UK, given there is no currently option to provide biometrics in Afghanistan.

Victoria Atkins: There are no plans to suspend the requirement for biometrics from Afghan nationals ineligible under Operation Pitting trying to join British citizens or settled persons in the UK and family members of refugees already in the UK.This was set out in paragraphs 40 and 41 of the Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement published on 13 September.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement-accessible-versionBiometrics underpin the UK’s immigration system to support identity assurance and suitability checks on foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control. They enable us to conduct comprehensive checks against immigration and criminality records to prevent leave being granted to those who pose a harm to national security or are likely to breach our laws.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services report, Police response to violence against women and girls - Final inspection report, published 17 September 2021.

Kit Malthouse: This Government is absolutely committed to tackling and preventing violence against women and girls (VAWG). That is why the Home Secretary commissioned HM Inspectorate of Police and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to carry out an inspection into the police response to these crimes.We are considering the report’s recommendations and have already supported the recommendation from HMICFRS’s interim report to introduce a full-time national police lead for VAWG, which the Home Office is funding. We look forward to working with DCC Maggie Blyth, who has been appointed to the role, to address the report’s findings and further support our wider work on VAWG, including our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which we published in July.

Action Fraud

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions officials in her Department have had with relevant stakeholders on tackling fraud in the context of the closing of Action Fraud.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to assist people whose cases have not been progressed by Action Fraud.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what agency will take responsibility for the cases open by Action Fraud as at 21 September 2021.

Damian Hinds: Victims will continue to be able to report frauds centrally to allow us to best tackle the frauds that affect millions of people across the country. The Home Office is working with the City of London Police (CoLP) on plans to replace the current Action Fraud service. The new service will improve the service to victims, provide greater intelligence and insight to policing on fraud and cybercrime affecting communities, and allow for greater prevention and disruption at scale. Home Office officials are engaging a wide range of partners ahead of publication of a Fraud Action Plan after the Spending Review is finished.In the meantime, we continue to work closely with the City of London Police, who manage the service, and a number of improvements to the existing system have been put in place over the last year to ensure a smooth transition to the new service.Reports submitted to Action Fraud are considered by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). Where enough evidence is available and viable leads are identified, the case is sent to the appropriate local police force to consider whether enforcement activity should take place. Reports not deemed viable for investigation by local police forces are not closed but remain under constant consideration for links to newly reported crimes. The intelligence is also used to identify opportunities to disrupt offenders, protect victims, and prevent further frauds.It is important that victims of fraud receive the support that they are entitled to. The Action Fraud Economic Crime Victim Care Unit delivers services to vulnerable victims of fraud and cyber crime to help them recover and prevent them from becoming victims in the future. Including those whose cases are not disseminated for investigation. Action Fraud also provides protective advice to individuals who contact the service. Further advice is currently available online at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2021 to Question 45845 on the revised policy on overseas fee waivers, what proportion of applications for overseas fee waivers have been (a) treated as urgent applications and (b) placed on hold since the previous policy was suspended pending revision.

Kevin Foster: Home Office Migration Statistics do not currently capture the number of applications for overseas fee waivers received or placed on hold since the previous policy was suspended.

Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Youth Mobility Visa to the EU to help tackle skills shortages in certain industries in the UK.

Kevin Foster: Our Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) agreements provide a valuable route for mutual cultural exchange and are not simply a one-way route for recruiting cheaper labour from overseas. We will therefore not add nations to the YMS route unilaterally.We are open to negotiating YMS arrangements with other countries and territories, including the EU or nations within it. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement which also provides benefit to UK Nationals, with the detail negotiated and agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of ongoing negotiations with partner countries as they occur.Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.

Immigration Controls: Marriage

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a British citizen seeking to bring a fiancé to the UK is required to provide proof that the couple have previously met in person.

Kevin Foster: A British citizen who wishes to sponsor their foreign national fiancé or proposed civil partner to enter the UK and reside here permanently under the family Immigration Rules must provide evidence to confirm the couple have met in person.Further guidance on the fiancé or proposed civil partner visa can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fiancees-set01/fiancees-set01#set114-what-to-do-after-an-initial-refusal-on-the-grounds-of-not-having-metA British citizen who does not wish to reside permanently in the UK with their fiancé can apply for them to enter as a visitor to conduct their wedding. There are no specific provisions under the visitor Rules for the couple to have met in person prior to their application. However, the couple will be expected to prove their relationship is genuine, which having not met in person may call into doubt, however each case is considered based on its individual circumstances.Further information on the marriage visitor Rules can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor

Migrant Workers: Hospitality Industry

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing a covid recovery visa for the hospitality sector.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the shortage occupation list, what discussions she has had with stakeholders in the food and drink sector on labour shortages in the food supply chain; and what steps she is taking to resolve those shortages in the short term.

Kevin Foster: Home Office Ministers and officials meet with a broad range of stakeholders including various sectors and other Government departments. The Government position remains we will not be introducing a short-term visa route such as the ‘Covid recovery visa’ as has been suggested.Most of the solutions are likely to be driven by industry, with a big push towards improving pay, conditions and diversity needed, rather than turning to the Home Office for immigration policy changes as an alternative to doing this. Employers with recruitment issues should therefore engage with the Department for Work and Pensions about the support they can provide in recruiting from the UK Labour Market,The Points Based System does provide for occupations within the agri-food sector, including butchers, a range of poultry roles and fishmongers, subject to the requirements of the system – including English language and salary – being met. An occupation does not need to be on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visaBeyond the Points Based System, there is the existing UK labour market, which includes those who come to the UK through our Youth Mobility Schemes (which we are looking to expand), our new British National (Overseas) visa for those from Hong Kong, dependants of those arriving under the expanded skilled worker route, as well as over 6 million applications under the EU Settlement Scheme and those who arrive through family routes, who all have access to the UK labour market.As a transitional measure, to help farm businesses adjust to changes to the UK labour market, the Seasonal Workers Pilot was extended into this year with 30,000 visas available. Decisions on the future of the pilot will be taken in due course, following evaluation of the scheme.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Older People

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to take steps to increase (a) consumer protection in respect of and (b) information on older people’s housing; and whether the Government plans to implement the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its report, Event fees in retirement properties, published in March 2017.

Eddie Hughes: The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill's provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders.This includes retirement properties, where purchasers of new leases will not be faced with financial demands for ground rent.In 2017, the Law Commission published a report of their review of event fees on behalf of this Department. This followed concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority about the fairness of some retirement property leases that have resulted in leaseholders paying an event fee of between 0.25% and 30% of the sale price of the property when selling or sub-letting. Concerns were also raised about the lack of transparency of event fees for older people and their families when purchasing a leasehold retirement property. The Law Commission made a number of recommendations in its report, which can be downloaded at http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/event-fees-in-retirement-properties.The Government responded to the Law Commission, thanking them for the report and agreeing to implement the majority of the recommendations.The Government is considering two further recommendations, on succession rights and a database of leasehold retirement properties with event fees, and will respond in due course.

Empty Property: Repairs and Maintenance

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) public and (b) private sector to renovate derelict buildings into community hubs.

Eddie Hughes: In July, my department launched a 4-year UK-wide £150 million Community Ownership Fund to support voluntary and community organisations to bring buildings such as community hubs at risk of loss into community ownership. The fund enables groups to bid for up to £250,000 of match funding. These buildings can be publicly or privately owned, and funding can be used to support renovation as part of an asset purchase. The second round of the Community Ownership Fund will be launched in December and third round in May 2021.

Planning: Public Consultation

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to publish its response to the Planning for the Future Consultation before the House of Commons rises on the 23 September 2021.

Christopher Pincher: This Government seeks to unite and level up the country, ensuring opportunity is available for all, and our plans to modernise the planning system are an important part of this.We are continuing to reflect on the 43,000 consultation responses and engage with stakeholders across the system.

Licensed Premises: Land Use

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact on neighbouring properties of temporary arrangements to allow pubs, restaurants and other venues to have tents, canopies and marquees for longer than the 28 days previously allowed without planning permission.

Christopher Pincher: The Permitted development right has supported the recovery of the hospitality industry by allowing venues to create additional covered space in outside areas.We are currently consulting on the future of some of the time-limited permitted development rights introduced since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes the right which allows the provision of moveable structures within the curtilage of a pub, café, restaurant, or historic visitor attraction.We will consider the responses to the consultation in respect of this right and further announcement will be made. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/supporting-defence-infrastructure-and-the-future-of-time-limited-permitted-development-rights/supporting-defence-infrastructure-and-the-future-of-time-limited-permitted-development-rights

Sheltered Housing: Planning Permission

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a C2R planning classification for housing-with-care, recommended by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee in its report The future of the planning system in England, published on 10 June 2021.

Christopher Pincher: National planning policy is clear that plan making authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) puts uses of land and buildings into various categories known as 'Use Classes'. In planning terms, homes for older people or those with a disability etc, may be C2 residential institutions or C3(b) dwellinghouse for up to six people living together as a single household, including cases where there is an element of care, or they may not be in a use class.

Property Development

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what powers local planning authorities have to censure a developer that submits multiple applications for a site that seeks to extend the limits to development which are already settled through restrictive covenants.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether financial resources are available for residents who need to repeatedly respond to multiple applications from a developer for a site that repeatedly seeks to extend the limits to development which are already settled through restrictive covenants.

Christopher Pincher: Local planning authorities have powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to decline to determine multiple applications for a site if they have previously refused permission for substantially similar applications within the past two years. Restrictive covenants are separate to planning laws and ones that exist may generally not be taken into account by a local planning authority when determining a planning application.

Voting Methods: Disability Aids

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effect of provisions in the Elections Bill on supporting (a) blind and partially sighted people and (b) people with other disabilities.

Kemi Badenoch: It is integral to our democracy that everybody is able to make their voice heard and that elections are accessible for all those eligible to vote.This is why, for the first time in electoral law, through the Elections Bill, we are putting in place a requirement for Returning Officers to consider the needs of all disabled voters when providing equipment for polling stations.This will allow Returning Officers to tailor the package of equipment they offer to their voters to take into account developments in equipment and technology, in order to best meet the needs of people with disabilities including those who have sight loss.Clear guidance will be issued to Returning Officers by the Electoral Commission, which will be produced in partnership with the Government's expert Accessibility of Elections Working Group, which includes a wide range of stakeholders such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People.This change has arisen following the Government's Call for Evidence on the Access to Elections. Responses from disabled people and organisations that represent their interests made clear that the current approach of requiring Returning Officers to solely provide at the polling station, a prescribed device for voters with sight loss, was not the best approach to meet the varied needs of disabled electors. Our new proposals will seek to meet those needs.

Northern Ireland Office

Stormont House Agreement

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the United Nations press release entitled UK: UN experts voice concern at proposed blanket impunity to address legacy of 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland on the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement.

Conor Burns: The UK Government welcomes the UN Special Rapporteurs’ ongoing interest in Northern Ireland legacy issues, and acknowledges the importance and value of their mission and objectives. While we respectfully disagree with some of the Special Rapporteurs’ assessments regarding the legacy proposals outlined in the Command Paper published in July, we continue to engage with the Special Rapporteurs through established channels. The Government is committed to dealing with legacy issues in a way that supports information recovery and reconciliation, complies with international human rights obligations, and responds to the needs of individual victims and survivors, as well as society as a whole. The Government welcomes comments as it continues to engage in its proposals, and will reflect carefully on what we have heard as we consider our next steps.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gaming Machines

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of PaddyPowerBetfair's introduction of a £500 monthly cap on losses for younger customers.

Chris Philp: We welcome recent steps taken by industry to raise standards and increase protections for customers, including PaddyPower/Betfair’s introduction of its £500 cap and the Betting & Gaming Council’s codes of conduct on high value customer schemes and online game design. The government and the Gambling Commission are continuing work to consider protections in online gambling. Earlier this year, the Gambling Commission launched a consultation and call for evidence on the steps remote operators should be required to take to identify and protect customers at risk of harm, including on issues to do with affordability. It received over 13,000 responses and the Commission has published an interim update on its website outlining next steps.The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 in December with the publication of a Call for Evidence which received 16,000 responses. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence-led, and aims to make sure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age. We are considering all evidence carefully and will publish a white paper outlining any conclusions and proposals for reform in due course.

Telecommunications: Infrastructure

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the Borth exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the Cardigan exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the Lampeter exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the Bow Street exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the New Quay exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the Aberaeron exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the Talybont exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with Openreach on (a) progress on the update of the Llanon exchange and (b) the timeline for completion of that work.

Julia Lopez: The department regularly engages with Openreach on the progress of their commercial rollout. Details of specific exchanges can be found on the Openreach website at the following address: https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/where-when-building-ultrafast-full-fibre-broadband. It is the government's view that the best way to achieve nationwide gigabit coverage is to create a competition-friendly environment in areas where deployment is commercially viable while focussing government funds on the 20% of the country where commercial deployment is unlikely. The Government is investing £5 billion as part of Project Gigabit to ensure the hardest-to-reach areas in the UK receive coverage. This will ensure communities are not left behind as the country benefits from a faster, further-reaching commercial investment. More generally across the UK, over half of premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019. By the end of the year, 60% will have access, and by 2025 the government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage.

BBC Worldwide: Privatisation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of privatising BBC Worldwide.

Julia Lopez: BBC Worldwide, formerly a BBC commercial subsidiary, was merged with BBC Studios in April 2018 and no longer exists. The new BBC Studios is already a commercial subsidiary of the BBC and therefore receives no public funding. Dividends made by BBC Studios are returned to the BBC’s public service arm, supplementing the BBC’s licence fee income.

Public Service Broadcasting

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring publicly funded broadcasters to provide all entertainment content on free to access digital platforms 10 years after first transmission.

Julia Lopez: The government is supportive of a modern system of public service broadcasting (PSB) that remains relevant and can continue to meet the needs of UK audiences in the future. Ensuring that content is universally available on a free-to-air basis is a core tenet of PSB, and the government is committed to ensuring this remains the case. This means that PSB content should be delivered via technologies that are commonly available, familiar to audiences, and offer a high-quality viewing experience. As independent organisations, the UK’s two publicly funded broadcasters – the BBC and S4C – are responsible for negotiating the length of time for which entertainment content is available on their platforms with producers and other rights holders. At present, the BBC allows access to most of its programmes for at least one year on the BBC iPlayer and S4C allows access to its programmes for up to 150 days on Clic.

Question

Holly Lynch: What steps she is taking to help prevent people from becoming digitally excluded.

Julia Lopez: The Government has worked closely with providers to put in place social tariffs. These provide low cost landline and broadband services for people on means-tested state benefits. We are encouraging providers who do not currently offer social tariff packages to do so. The telecoms industry has also removed data caps on fixed broadband packages, and provides free or low cost data boosts on mobile services to support vulnerable consumers. In February DCMS also launched a £2.5 million Digital Lifeline Fund to reduce the digital exclusion of people with learning disabilities.This fund has provided tablets, data and free digital support to over 5,000 people with learning disabilities, enabling them to connect with friends and family, and access services and support groups, promoting overall well being. The Government has also introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge.Finally, around 2,900 public libraries in England provide accessible locations offering free Wi-Fi, computers, and other technology. Library staff, often supported by volunteers, can provide library users with digital support.

Events Industry: Coronavirus

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage people to return to live events following the lifting of covid-19 public health restrictions.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government recognises the important contribution that live events make to the UK’s culture and economy. It's important that as we welcome the return of large events such as music festivals, and fans back to our stadiums, we do so as carefully as possible. That’s why we have been working with event organisers to ensure that the lessons learned from the Events Research Programme are being put into practice. The Government is committed to ensuring the safety of the public through minimising the risks of transmission of Covid-19 and by encouraging vaccination. The evidence from the Events Research Programme pilots was used to inform and shape Government policy and bring about the return of audiences to venues and events across England. The ERP showed that transmission is most likely when large crowds gather, and covid-status certification has been shown to be one method of mitigating this risk. Certification will help to improve confidence in those wishing to attend live events and encourage attendance. From 19 July, the Government made the NHS COVID Pass available so that individuals can prove their vaccination status. The NHS Covid Pass has been designed to be quick and simple to use, so as not to place any significant burden on settings utilising the resource. Use of the NHS COVID Pass is voluntary for individual organisations. However, we encourage the use of the NHS COVID Pass in facilities or events where people are likely to be in close proximity to a large number of people from other households for a sustained period of time.

Cultural Heritage: West Yorkshire

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help preserve sites of historic significance in (a) Morley and Outwood and (b) West Yorkshire.

Nigel Huddleston: Though there have been no Listed Buildings or Scheduled Monuments designated in Morley and Outwood in the last two years, I can confirm that five Listed Buildings have been designated in West Yorkshire in this period - Clough House (Birstall); York Gate Gardens (Leeds); Grave of Charles Waterton (Wakefield); Gawthorpe Water Tower (Wakefield); and Manningham War Memorial (Bradford).

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Listed Buildings

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2021 to Question 43369 on Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Listed Buildings, if she will publish (a) a list of the properties classified as heritage assets owned by her Department, (b) the most recent estimate of the value of those properties and (c) the annual income derived from those properties.

Nigel Huddleston: The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport owns the freehold to the following Listed Buildings:PropertyEstimated value of freehold (2017)Annual income22 Park Street, Windsor£195,000£5023 Park Street, Windsor£210,000£120

Railways: Cultural Heritage

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support heritage rail.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK is a true pioneer in the history of railway development, nurturing and benefitting from the talents of Brunel and Stephenson among others. We are rightly proud of this legacy and must ensure that the next generation is endowed with both the skills and the passion to protect this legacy for the future. The heritage railway sector is not only a fundamental component of our national heritage, it is an important aspect of our visitor economy with heritage railways attracting around 13 million visitors and bringing an estimated £250 million to the economy annually. It is because of this cultural and economic significance that the Government has supported the heritage rail network over the past year through its unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, which has awarded approximately £15.7 million to railway related organisations across the country.

Cabinet Office: Historic Buildings

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which Department is responsible for Historic England's Government Historic Estate Unit; and how funding has been allocated to that unit.

Nigel Huddleston: Historic England is Government’s statutory advisor on heritage and funded by DCMS. The Government Historic Estates Unit (GHEU) is a small, dedicated team within Historic England, which helps government departments and other public bodies, such as the Royal Household, to look after the historic buildings and structures in their care. In financial year 2021/22 Historic England received £69.2 million baseline Grant in Aid from DCMS. An allocation of this grant for 2021/22 is staffing costs for those working in the GHEU which amounts to £61,000.

Channel Four: Privatisation

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish an impact assessment ahead of the consultation on the privatisation of Channel 4; and what the evidential basis is that the privatisation will lead to more content investment and more jobs.

Julia Lopez: The government has recently consulted on whether an alternative ownership model for Channel 4 (but one where it retains a public service remit) may be better for the broadcaster, and better for the country.We want Channel 4 to continue to be a public service broadcaster, and we want it to continue to contribute socially, economically and culturally to life across the UK. But there is a wealth of evidence - including Ofcom’s recent report - on the future challenges facing our traditional linear TV broadcasters. Linear TV viewing is down almost 60% amongst 16-25 year olds since 2010, whilst 16-34 year olds now spend almost twice as much time on YouTube and subscription VoD services than they do with broadcast content. There are now 315 channels, compared to 5 in 1982 when Channel 4 was established. Linear TV advertising revenues - which constituted 74% of Channel 4’s revenue in 2020 - have declined across the sector at a compound annual rate of 2.5% since 2015.Channel 4 is uniquely constrained in its ability to meet these challenges while it remains under public ownership - particularly because its access to capital and ability to pursue strategic partnership opportunities is limited.Moving Channel 4 into private ownership could allow it to access new capital, take advantage of international opportunities, and create strategic partnerships only available through the private sector. A thriving, sustainable Channel 4 could offer the best prospects for long-term job creation and support to the wider creative economy.Consulting on the broadcaster’s future is therefore about ensuring that Channel 4 can continue to contribute to the UK’s success in public service broadcasting for years to come, and how we ensure its ownership model best supports this aim.The consultation opened on 6 July, running for 10 weeks, before closing on 14 September. We are currently analysing responses to our consultation, and evidence received through it, to inform our policy-making decisions. Once we have answered the questions set out in the consultation, we will know what specific impacts to assess and will therefore be in a position to carry out an impact assessment.

Channel Four: Privatisation

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of privatising Channel 4 on (a) businesses and jobs in the UK production sector; (b) the balance in the creative economy between London and the rest of the UK and (c) UK viewers’ access to original and distinctive UK content.

Nigel Huddleston: The government has recently consulted on whether an alternative ownership model for Channel 4 (but one where it retains a public service remit) may be better for the broadcaster, and better for the country.We want Channel 4 to continue to be a public service broadcaster, and we want it to and continue to contribute socially, economically and culturally to life across the UK. But there is a wealth of evidence - including Ofcom’s recent report - on the future challenges facing our traditional linear TV broadcasters. Linear TV viewing is down almost 60% amongst 16-25 year olds since 2010, whilst 16-34 year olds now spend almost twice as much time on YouTube and subscription VoD services than they do with broadcast content. There are now 315 channels, compared to 5 in 1982 when Channel 4 was established. Linear TV advertising revenues - which constituted 74% of Channel 4’s revenue in 2020 - have declined across the sector at a compound annual rate of 2.5% since 2015.Channel 4 is uniquely constrained in its ability to meet these challenges while it remains under public ownership - particularly because its access to capital and ability to pursue strategic partnership opportunities is limited.Moving Channel 4 into private ownership could allow it to access new capital, take advantage of international opportunities, and create strategic partnerships only available through the private sector.Consulting on the broadcaster’s future is therefore about ensuring that Channel 4 can continue to contribute to the UK’s success in public service broadcasting for years to come, and how we ensure its ownership model best supports this aim.The channel’s wider economic and social contributions, its role in the creative economies of the nations and regions, and its remit are among the issues we have consulted on.The consultation opened on 6 July, running for 10 weeks, before closing on 14 September. We are currently analysing responses to our consultation, and evidence received through it, to inform our policy-making decisions.Once we have answered the questions set out in the consultation, we will know what specific impacts to assess and will therefore be in a position to carry out an impact assessment.

Television: Standards

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Department's news story, It’s time to level up Britain’s screens, published on 23 June 2021, what evidence his Department used to inform the assessment that choice is no longer an issue for UK viewers.

Mr John Whittingdale: There is a wealth of evidence set out in our consultation document that supports the case we have made about the evolving media landscape and the challenges this presents for linear TV broadcasters. Linear TV viewing is down almost 60% amongst 16-25 year olds since 2010, whilst 16-34 year olds now spend almost twice as much time on YouTube and subscription VoD services than they do with broadcast content. There are now 315 channels, compared to 5 in 1982 when Channel 4 was established. Linear TV advertising revenues - which constituted 74% of Channel 4’s revenue in 2020 - have declined across the sector at a compound annual rate of 2.5% since 2015.Moreover, Ofcom, in their latest recommendations to Government on the future of public service media, outlined what it called the ‘rapid change in the industry – driven by global commercial trends and a transformation in viewing habits - [which] is making it harder for public service broadcasters to compete for audiences and maintain their current offer”.It is against this backdrop that the Government is taking action through a strategic review of the UK’s public service broadcasting system, with plans to bring forward a White Paper in the Autumn, to ensure that our traditional public service broadcasters are equipped to retain their place at the centre of the UK’s media ecosystem.